You cannot Hide
by Speklez
Summary: On a vacation to the fabled city of myth and mystery, twin sisters Destiny and Arietta catch the eye of two of the myths themselves. How do you return to whence you came when you cannot hide from your fate... or the two best trackers in existence? AU, OC, OOC 3RD PPOV, All my normal disclaimers apply. Demetri/OC Alistair/OC ***ON HIATUS***
1. Chapter 1

**Huh, well, Happy to see all My Darlings. This is a story I submitted to the SU4K compilation and after much contemplation over the two submissions, I decided that I would share this one first since I have so much written for it. 60,000 words or so, I think.**

**This is a duel pairing story, as the summary indicates. Though the primary lead is Demetri, there is a very healthy dose of Alistair in this story. There are also parts in future chapters that I DID NOT write. Those sections are credited to my love WhiteWolfLegend and I will tell you up front at the beginning of the chapter if you will be reading her writing... though the very different style from mine kinda sticks out like a sore thumb. **

**This story, unless I get bored, will be a weekly update.**

**The first 11,000 or so words were beta'ed by one of the compilation beta's, ScottishRose1028**

**Enjoy and on with it**

***X***

Groaning a little as she shifted in her seat, her spine cracking from her neck to tailbone, Destiny looked to her side, elbowing her sister in the ribs. "Dude, chill the fuck out. We still have seven hours on the plane and I would hate to have to throw you out the door."

Arietta looked over at her twin and stuck her tongue out. "Screw you. I can't help it if I'm excited. Seriously, Dez, think about it, we are out of parental reach for a _month_. How the hell can you be all like, blah, right now?"

Cocking a brow, Destiny raised her voice louder than was really necessary when she answered. "Because some jackass won't get his knees out of my back." Settling back into her seat with a sigh upon discovering the horrible fucker had finally moved his damn knees, she smiled at her sister. "Don't get me wrong, Ari, I am just as excited about this as you are. I just don't need to try and knock a plane out of the sky by bouncing in my seat over it. Just relax a little. Like I said, there are still seven hours left before we land in Florence and then there is the drive to Volterra." Closing her eyes and pressing play on her iPod, she continued, "Don't wear yourself out just yet. I would suggest you get some sleep if you want to hit the shops and shit when we get there because I _will_ go without you."

Knowing that was very real threat, Arietta also turned on her iPod and settled back in her seat, extremely thankful that Destiny was in front of the guy that was like, ten feet tall and she didn't have to worry about knees in her back. However, Destiny was the 'evil twin' and would have zero qualms about turning around in her seat and letting the giant have it if he did that shit again.

For only being five minutes apart in age, they seemed worlds apart.

Of the two of them, Arietta was the more reserved one, if only slightly, while Destiny was the one that never held her tongue. If someone pissed her off, she would lay into them without a second thought while Arietta would be a little nicer about telling them to fuck off. They held a lot of the same interests but ran with far different circles.

That's how they ended up on a plane to Italy.

They had taken a class in high school all about the myths of the supernatural and it was their favorite class. They had graduated a few years ago but they were still just as interested about that hidden world, so for their birthday their parents had bought them a trip to the major city they had studied. They would actually turn twenty-one during the trip, something both girls were overjoyed about. They had made plans for that night the moment their parents presented them with the plane tickets, over the moon at the fact their birthday wouldn't be cut short by their over-protective father calling them at midnight to come home from the bar.

They had also graciously accepted the itinerary their mother had worked out for them, accidentally-on-purpose forgetting it on their dresser when they left earlier that day. No, there was no way a woman that was across the ocean from them was going to tell them what to do.

Dozing off, Arietta had a smile on her face as she pictured just how much fun and fuckary she and her older sister were going to have and cause over the next month.

A few hours later, Destiny was just about at the end of her very limited tolerance for biting her tongue against irritation. She had never dealt with it well and she had been born without the brain-to-mouth filter that everyone else seemed to have. Sitting up with a growl, she ripped her earphones out of her ears and turned around, her knees on the seat and glared over the headrest. Boiling rage sparked in her eyes and she barked, "Hey, Gigantor, would you be ever so kind as get your goddamn knees out of my fucking back? I get that you're like, freakishly tall, but seriously, there is _no one_ next to you. Stretch out that way because I am seriously about to lose my fucking temper. Ten hours is more than long enough to put up with it. Fucking _move_."

Glaring at him a moment longer, she huffed slightly when he appeared to be smart enough to turn to the side and away from the back of her chair. "Smart man." As she was turning back to sit down, she saw that there were more than a few sets of eyes on her, causing her to simply cock a brow at them. "What? Y'all know that you want to say that shit to the person behind you too, so get over it."

As Destiny was sitting back down, Arietta glanced over at her. "Nice Sis, very mature."

Destiny just shrugged as she put her earphones back in. "Fuck maturity, my back hurts."

*X*

Once the plane landed, Destiny and Arietta stood and gathered their things, the freakishly tall man sending little glances at Destiny every few seconds that she ignored and her sister didn't.

"You should apologize to him, Dez. That was mean."

Looking at her sister for a minute, Destiny shook her head a little and went back to gathering her stuff. "No." When she heard the telltale inhale from her sister telling her she was about to get a lecture again about being nice to strangers, Destiny turned and glared at her. "Ari, don't start with me, please? You are not the one that spent the better part of ten hours in the most painful and awkward position known to man, were you? No, so just keep it to yourself and save the lecture for when I actually need to hear it." Then she giggled a little as she pulled her backpack over her shoulder. "Because we both know I will."

Pressing her lips together, Arietta nodded and followed her sister off the plane, looking over her shoulder and giving the man a little smile but saying nothing to him.

After gathering their bags and slipping on their jackets, the girls made their way out of the airport and to the line of taxicabs that were right outside the door. Hailing one and loading their bags into the truck, the girls got into the backseat, handing the driver the address to the boarding house where their mother had arranged for them to stay since they were still working on speaking the language.

About halfway to Volterra, the girls had the windows down, talking back and forth about everything they wanted to do after they checked in with the boarders since there was still quite a while before sundown. Pausing in her sentence, Destiny's ears perked up at the sound of a couple of motorcycles coming up behind them.

Turning in her seat and looking out the back window, she poked her sister and nodded for her to look too. There was very little on the planet that Destiny liked more than bikes, or the guy on them. Her eyes lit up a little when she saw how fast they were catching up to the car they were in.

_Huh, daredevils... nice. _Biting lightly into her bottom lip, Destiny whirled back around when the bikes each leaned to the outside, one going on either side of the car. Looking out her window, she blinked a little when the rider paced the car for a moment, turning his head to face her. She took that blessed moment to take in the sight he made on the crotch rocket. He was dressed in what appeared to be black dress slacks and dress shoes, a long black hooded jacket that was buttoned with the tail of it flying out behind him, black gloves covering his hands and the visor of his helmet down. There was not an inch of skin to be seen on him but that didn't stop her mind from conjuring up very vivid pictures of what he was trying so hard to hide.

Arietta was doing the same thing with the rider that was pacing her side of the taxi. Whereas the rider on Destiny's side was dressed in black, the rider on Arietta's was in dark browns. His slacks, shoes and gloves were shades of auburn and sienna. His body length jacket however, was the same midnight black as the other rider, the tail also flapping out behind him.

Both girls jumped slightly when, at the same time, both riders revved their bikes, nodded at them and shot off, passing the taxi with little effort.

Watching until they faded into the distance, Destiny and Arietta turned to face each other, huge smiles on their faces, "Did you see that?" Then they started laughing when they said it simultaneously. It was a twin thing that they did all the time.

The rest of the drive to the city was spent making up stories about the mysterious riders, from the color of their eyes to just what it was they were hiding.

***xXx***

"I cannot believe he got away again. Slippery little bastard."

Chuckling slightly as he took a long drink from the beer in his hand, Demetri clapped his partner on the shoulder before sitting down across from him, "Don't worry about it, Alistair. We'll get him."

Growling around the rim of the glass of scotch, Alistair drank half of it in one go before grunting, "Five years that son of a bitch has been this close to getting caught and every time he gets away before we get close enough to him for you to do that voodoo shit of yours with his brain." Running his hand down his face, he continued, "Master Aro is going to be pissed."

Nodding a little, Demetri shrugged. "He'll get over it, he always does. Think of it this way: we were way closer than the last few times we were sent after him and eventually, he _will_ run out of places to run. I'll give you he's a slippery little bastard, but no one ever truly lives forever." Grinning as he brought his beer bottle to his lips, he added, "If we're lucky, he'll piss someone else off and they'll take care of him for us."

"If we could only be so lucky," Alistair grumbled as he finished his drink. He then went back over to the bar and picked up the scotch, pausing as he pulled the top off, he turned to look at Demetri. "Maybe he'll get mated and he'll die by a lady's hand."

Demetri just snorted a little but didn't comment.

Their flight to the private airstrip just outside Florence didn't take but a few hours since they were only coming from France, but the time still seemed to drag on since they were once again returning empty handed.

After disembarking, and making a light snack of the hanger attendants so that they were well fed when they got to the city gates, Demetri and Alistair mounted their bikes and headed back home, neither one really wanting to be the one to tell their master that the bastard got away, _again_. However, their return was expected since there was a time limit on how long they were going to give chase this time. They had been gone for a week and a half and if they postponed heading home any longer, they knew they would be in even deeper shit than they already were.

They were just over halfway there when both of them caught two scents that had their immediate attention. They were nearly the same, but one was milder while the other had a spice to it that had Demetri purring. They both had the same combination of apples, citrus and vanilla but the one that called to him was spiced vanilla opposed to the milder one that had Alistair's complete attention.

Looking over at each other, they apparently had the same idea because they both revved the engine and sped up, following the trail of those scents. When they caught sight of the car a few miles ahead of them, they began to slow their bikes, still going faster than what they now knew was an airport taxi.

Following their noses, Demetri and Alistair leaned to the side of the car that called to them, breaking enough to get a look inside.

Turning, Demetri saw bright hazel eyes lined in black looking right back him through the taxi window. He was struck for a moment at the human female's beauty before letting his eyes take in the entire picture she made. Her hair was thick and curly, long enough to pass her shoulders, jet black with crimson red streaks running the full length, some over an inch thick while others were as thin as his pinky. With the way it was laying, the wind from the open window blew a curled lock across her face. Her skin was smooth and a few shades darker than cream. Her lips were full and damn near perfect, a glossy sheen over them so they shimmered, the slight glitter making his own lips tingle in desire to press to hers.

She was wearing a red canvas jacket that was unbuttoned over a tight black sleeveless top that was short on the torso showing off her toned abs and a belly button ring. That was as far as he dared to look because he saw leg and he was a little worried about laying his bike down. Bringing his eyes back up to her face, he smirked when he saw her giving him a once over as well.

On the other side of the car, Alistair was practically purring at the sight of the human on his side of the cab. Hazel eyes with flecks of gold gazed back at him, one of them nearly covered by her hair. One side of her curly locks and a strand of her fringe was a deep black; the rest was a dark crimson. She had a smooth, creamy complexion with full, pouty lips that were painted red, popping out and begging to be kisses.

As he let his eyes slide her form, he saw she was mostly covered, a red jacket buttoned from her waist to her chest, her legs covered by black slacks. However, he could clearly see the perfect muscle definition of her legs by the way they clung to her like a second skin. He would need to adjust himself once he wasn't being stared at just as closely as he was staring at her.

Both vampires were ripped out of very detailed fantasies when there was a beep in their ear from the modified helmet's communication system, followed by Felix's voice asking for an ETA.

Demetri growled slightly before responding to him, "Fifteen minutes out."

Nodding to the ladies they had just rudely stared at for a few minutes, the guards opened up the throttle on their bikes before shooting past the cab, pushing the bikes to the limits that they were capable of to make up for the lost time.

Once they were a safe distance away, Alistair reached down and readjusted himself before looking over at Demetri, "Jesus, Dem. How about that shit?"

Looking over at him, Demetri smirked again behind his visor. "I know; _twins_." Chuckling, he added, "and also, you must pass through Volterra if you want to go further on this particular road."

Grinning wide even though it couldn't be seen, Alistair asked, "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

Nodding at him as he turned to face forward, Demetri said nothing, his mind whirling with thoughts of the human that he was dead set on seeing again.

*X*

Slowing as they neared the gates, Demetri and Alistair came to a stop at the keeper's station, pulling their guard pendants out from under their jackets and lifting their visors to show that they had fed before continuing on their way, weaving in and out of the buildings to the underground parking deck.

Parking and cutting the engines, they took off their helmets, Alistair running his fingers through his shoulder length brown hair.

Demetri was removing his gloves when the door on the other side of the garage opened, Felix coming in looking a little too happy for his taste. Dismounting and unbuttoning his jacket, Demetri snapped, "Just what the hell are you so happy about?"

Crossing his arms, Felix snorted a little. "Nothing for you to worry about. But, just so you can't say I didn't warn you, I would stay away from Jane for a few days."

Smirking at him, Demetri cocked a brow. "What did you do this time?"

Shaking his head, Felix replied, "Tell ya later. Master Aro is waiting as patiently as he can for the two of you right now. And, since I don't see anyone here that doesn't live here, I am going to assume things didn't go well."

Alistair growled a little. "Slippery little bastard."

Glancing at his partner out of the corner of his eye, Demetri smirked. "Ready to go tell the Master that your nemesis has once again eluded your grasp?"

"Yours as well."

Demetri held up a finger and grinned widely. "Ah, but I have not met the vampire, therefore I cannot track him. You, on the other hand, _can_."

Glaring at Demetri, Alistair growled again, "You're an asshole." With that, he walked away and towards the exit to get this over with. He wanted to shower and to think about the human from the cab some more.

Demetri snickered as he followed behind him. This would be entertaining, to say the least. He was relatively sure that Aro wasn't going to give a fuck about their lack of a prisoner at the moment. They had been hunting this particular vampire for years and he was always one step in front of them... well, one step too far out of the reach of their gift. Once he got a lock on the bastard, this shit would be over, but until that happened, there wasn't a chance in hell to catch him. Alistair's gift worked across the globe, as did his. The difference was, Demetri had to actually see the vampire's eyes for his gift to be effective whereas Alistair did not and if who Alistair was after was on the move, well, he could be eluded whereas whoever Demetri was after could not.

They made a good team if the person Alistair was after stayed still or at least in the same area of the country, but this fucker was all over the damn place.

Reaching the throne room, Demetri and Alistair opened the doors and moved across the room, bowing low to their three masters before standing before them, Demetri with his hands clasped behind his back and Alistair with his arms crossed.

Aro rose from his seat, a wide grin on his face at the return of his trackers. "Ah, Demetri, Alistair. Welcome home. I take it you were once again unsuccessful in capturing Joham?"

Alistair barely swallowed his growl before answering, "Yes, Master Aro. We got much closer this time but he was once again able to get away."

Humming a little and tilting his head a bit, Aro frowned. "Pity. I can imagine that this is getting quite frustrating for you, Alistair, to be given the slip by the same vampire so many times. However, I wouldn't worry overly much about it. Eventually he will make a mistake, everyone does. Just be sure that when he makes his, you spend a great deal of time rubbing his nose in it."

_No problem there._ Nodding to him, Alistair bowed out when he was dismissed, Demetri staying behind to give the full report of their movements as the higher ranking guard. They were both part of the elite but Demetri had about three centuries of seniority, making him the one in charge when they were sent on what was quickly becoming a wild goose chase.

He was also the one that got an earful when they came back empty handed.

Standing tall before his masters, Demetri waited for the coming lecture, his mind only half there when Aro began to tell him of his disappointment, visions of hazel eyes with specks of green and flowing black and red hair dancing before his eyes. Shutting his eyes as the memory of her scent also invaded his mind, Demetri shook his head to clear it so he could pay attention for his cue to apologize for the mishap and be on his way. Eyes snapping open, Demetri nodded at Aro when he was asked if he was alright. "Of course, Master. My apologies."

Brow sliding up his forehead, Aro clapped his hands together in front of him, amusement coloring his voice as it flooded his eyes. "Are you quite sure, Demetri?"

Nodding again, Demetri cleared his throat a little, dipping his head ever so slightly. "Absolutely, Master. Again, I apologize for my actions."

Before Aro was able to say anything else, Marcus, who had a very small, barely-there smile on his face, spoke up. "Leave the boy be, Aro. In time, I am sure you will come to know what has him so distracted." Looking to the now stunned tracker, he continued, "You are dismissed, Demetri."

Bowing low at the waist, Demetri pivoted on his heel and left the throne room, eyes again closed as he held the pads of his fingers to the bridge of his nose. Once again shaking his head, he huffed out a sigh as he pulled the doors closed behind him.

Once the guard was out of the room, Marcus stood from his chair and made to leave as well, pausing and turning to the side when Aro called out to him, waiting a moment for his tantrum.

Crossing his arms, Aro cocked a brow at his normally silent brother. "Would you be so kind as to explain your actions just now, Marcus?"

Sighing a little, Marcus shook his head. "You need not know _everything_, Aro. Let the poor boy have his time with his secrets, time to work them out for himself before you intrude. You know everything of his very long life. Letting him keep a short time of that to himself long enough to figure things out will not kill you."

Smirking a little, Aro inquired, "But you know what is going on, do you not?"

Marcus shrugged a little before turning and continuing on his way to his chambers. "That is also not for you to intrude on. I would hope, after all this time, you hold enough respect for me to not force yourself into my mind."

Pressing his lips together as he watched Marcus walk out of the room, Aro clenched his hands into fists as they itched to do just that. He knew that not knowing wouldn't kill him, but that didn't mean he had to _like_ it.

Caius hummed in his throat, pulling Aro's attention to him as he also stood to leave. Looking over at his brother, Caius spoke in an off handed way, "He nearly reminded me of myself just now."

As Caius was walking away, Aro rolled his eyes a little when his brother said nothing else. "And you are not going to enlighten me either, are you?"

Caius snorted hard before laughing outright. "Of course not. It is going to be far more entertaining watching you rip your hair out for the next few days. I truly hope Demetri manages to avoid contact with you for at least the next month. It might teach you a lesson in keeping out of other's business when you have no business being there." Looking over his shoulder as he reached the door, he continued. "Marcus was right this time, Aro. Demetri is as loyal as they come and you know it. It was the reason you had Chelsea remove him from her influence, knowing he would stay of his own accord and still pledge his life to the guard. He has given you everything else, let the boy keep something to himself for once."

After the door closed behind Caius, Aro dropped into his chair, propping his chin in his palm, speaking to the empty room. "Bastardo."

*X*

After leaving his masters' presence, Demetri went out to a balcony off one of the higher levels, pulling his hood over his head when he stepped into the sunlight. Setting his hands on the railing, he looked out over the city, but didn't really see it. He was still bombarded with visions of the human from the highway, the torment of her scent invading his nose. It was going to drive him absolutely insane, he was sure of it.

Turning to look to his side when he felt someone beside him, he pressed his lips together and turned back to the sights. "You too?"

Alistair leaned on the railing next to Demetri and nodded. "Yup."

Giving into temptation, Demetri allowed his gift to spark to life, finding that human's exact location and would have had a heart attack if his was still beating. Head snapping down and to the right, his jaw dropped. "You have got to be fucking kidding me."

Actually jumping at his voice, Alistair looked at him, blinking a few times. "What?"

Demetri just pointed out to the other side of the palace walls, at two identical long red jackets walking through the village proper. "That, right there, is fucking bullshit."

"Why?"

Turning his head so slowly his neck nearly creaked, Demetri's face was as flat as his voice. "Because it is still five hours until sunset."

***X***

**Awe... I'm such a bitch. *giggle* Well, there is chapter one. Let me know what you think**

**Later,  
Speklez**


	2. Chapter 2

**Well, I'm bored so I decided to post another chapter. This one is not as long as the last one, but the last one was actually the first two chapters stuck together because I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing. **

**Other than that, I have nothing to say. This is still within the section of the story was beta'ed. **

**On with it.**

***X***

Once they were checked into the boarding house, got a shower and that mandatory call to their parents, Destiny and Arietta headed out into the city to scrounge up something to eat and get a feel of the layout of the different restaurants, shops and other things the city had to offer. They were not a full block from their accommodations before they both fell in love with the city.

Arm in arm, the girls walked into the village proper, taking a little pause to simply take it in before smiling and continuing on their way. When they reached the fountain in the center of the circle, Arietta sat on the edge while Destiny hopped up on the ledge and held her arms out to balance herself.

Looking down at her sister, Destiny cocked her head a little to the side. "So, what shall we do first? Scavenge for food, check out the shops or do you want to go see that street show that Mr. Mancini told us about?"

Crossing her legs and pulling her elbow on her knee before propping her chin in her palm, Arietta hummed a little. "Well, I am absolutely starving so I think we should head over to that place Mr. Mancini said to go to exchange currency. He seemed pretty insistent that the locals don't accept American money here and not everyone takes credit cards."

Grunting a little, Destiny sighed. "And the mind boggles. I thought everyone took credit cards before he said that." Looking to the clock tower across the circle, "If we're gonna do that today, we need to hurry. It's gonna close soon." Walking around the fountain's edge, "but after that, what is the first order of business?"

Looking up at her sister and pursing her lips a little. "Food, definitely food."

Even more shocking to Destiny than the possibility of someone not taking a credit card was the exchange rate. The two thousand dollars they started with came out to over three million in Lira. She was positive that there was a flip to this somewhere, like the cost of living and pricing, but she didn't care at that exact moment in time. She was just curious what it would come to if they exchanged the entire amount they were given and not just part of it. Plus, they didn't have any actual expenses but food. Everything was inclusive with their rooms and that was already paid for making all their money theirs to do with what they wanted.

They would admit to being spoiled.

However, even not knowing how far that would go in the long run, neither one of them wanted to walk around with that much money on them so they rented a safety deposit box for the time being, planning on coming back for it the next day and putting the money in the safe back in their room, keeping out five thousand for the night.

After going to a small bistro they found and getting something to eat, the girls decided on just walking the streets until they found something that struck their interest, going in and out of a few of the little shops they passed. Turns out that even though the locals didn't want American currency, they were still very accommodating to the fact that neither one spoke very good Italian. They did try, much to the amusement of whoever they were trying to talk to, but it was so broken and tripped over they doubted they were understood anyways.

By the time the sun began to set that evening, Destiny and Arietta had been all over the place, and as much as they loved the city, they couldn't for the life of them remember how to get back to their boarding house. Hell, they were so turned around they couldn't even remember how to get back to the village proper.

Leaning on a wall, foot propped up against the brick, Destiny gave her sister a flat look as she took a hit off her cigarette. Blowing out the smoke, "Seriously, Ari, chill. Freaking out isn't helping a damn thing. Take a deep breath and relax a minute."

Waving the smoke out of the air in front of her, Arietta glared at her sister. "Being blah right now isn't helping either. And didn't you quit smoking like, a month ago?"

Snorting a little, "No, I just told mom and dad I did so they would shut up about it." Pulling her pack out of her pocket, she held it out to her sister. "Here, have one and settle down a bit. We'll figure out how to get back. It's still early anyways. There are bound to be people milling about somewhere we can ask."

Wrinkling her nose at the offer and shaking her head, Arietta looked back at the paper in her hands with the location of their boarding house on it. "I think we need to go up the hill to get to the circle."

Destiny looked both ways down the little path they were on, seeing flat paving, also not being able to see above the tops of the building, and ticked a little. "Okay, how do we get to an uphill walkway?"

Growling a little, Arietta huffed a little and dropped her head back on her shoulders. "I don't know."

Putting her cigarette between her lips, Destiny held her hand out for the little map thing her sister was about to rip to shreds. "Here, let me have a look. Fresh and not pissed off eyes might just do a world of good." Plucking the apparently offending paper from her sister's fingers, Destiny took a look at it, turning it from side to side, her head cocked. Taking her cigarette from her lips and playing with her tongue ring for a moment, she looked up and nodded to the right. "Let's go that way. Worst thing that can happen is I'm wrong, have to listen to you bitch about it and we turn around and try again." Folding the paper up and handing it back, she dropped the butt and stepped on it. "Like I said, it's still early. There has to be at least one person out and about right now that can point us in the right direction."

Groaning a little, Arietta looked at her sister. "So your plan is to continue to just wander aimlessly through the streets and hope we run into someone?"

Smirking a little, Destiny snorted. "Would you rather kick it in an alley and wait for someone to happen by instead? I don't know about you, but I am not really a fan of stories about girls, alleys and nightfall." Picking up her bag of goodies she had acquired over the day, she chuckled a little. "Come on, let's go."

With another groan, Arietta followed suit, grabbed her bags as well and followed after her sister.

It was around ten minutes later that Destiny did happen to see someone a little ways away from them. Calling out for him to wait, she jogged over to ask him how to get to the circle. Finding out they were at least heading in the right direction, she thanked the man and turned back to her sister. "See, I told..."

Pausing and blinking, Destiny looked around the area for Arietta but didn't see hide nor hair of the girl. "Ari, where the hell are you?" When there was no response, she picked up her pace a little, looking every which way and not seeing her.

Passing an opening to a different side street, Destiny skidded to stop and redirected herself when she saw Arietta's bag on the ground. Running full tilt, she rounded a corner and cried out, "Arietta!" Not stopping, she shoulder checked the brick shit house of a guy that was holding her sister hostage, jarring her shoulder but not feeling it. "Get away from my sister, you son of a bitch."

Knocking the bastard away, and having to recover from the impact herself, Destiny grabbed her sister's wrist and pulled her back to her feet before giving her shove to get her feet moving again. "Go!"

Sprinting through the streets and taking blind corners, the sisters ran with everything they had, the sounds of foot falls behind them. Arietta went to look behind them and Destiny just gave her another shove. "Don't look and don't stop."

Even if it was only five minutes, she was still the older sister, damnit.

A few blocks later, the girls were forced to stop, coming to a slip in the path. Giving about a tenth of a second of thought, Destiny pushed Arietta to the path to right, hoping that was the direction she was told the town proper was in. They only made it about halfway up before they literally ran into a block in the path, Destiny yelping a little when her shoulder was jared again, this time coupled with a crack.

They were only saved from hitting the ground by an arm wrapping around each of their waists.

"Whoa, careful, bambine. Are you two alright?"

The voice was heavy in an Italian accent, a smooth and silky tenor that was as threatening as a basket of kittens.

Looking up at their roadblocks, both girls pulled away, Destiny holding her shoulder, as they looked at who it was they ran into, an apology on their tongues and feet ready to continue to run, only for both to die at the sight that met their eyes. It was still light enough for them to see twin black full length jackets they wouldn't ever forget, not after the fantasies they had of them all day. The only difference is this time they were unbuttoned showing off the shirts that were hidden from them the last time they saw them.

However, they were both so keyed up at the moment, neither one was really in the current mood to oggle. There would be time for that later, for now, it was time to run.

Panting hard, the girls looked back over their shoulders, looking the way they came when they heard the sounds of the following footfalls getting louder. With a groan, and another whimper from Destiny, they turned back, Destiny taking the lead as she pushed her sister around the two men in front of them, giving them a wider than necessary birth, "Sorry. Really, so sorry for running into you, but, we really gotta go." Walking backwards a few steps, "Again, really, really sorry."

Before they got more than two steps and started running again, the guy dressed in the different shades of browns spoke out. "Are you two in some kind of trouble?"

Pulling her sister a little behind her as she continued to push for a retreat, Destiny squeaked a little when the guy they were running from appeared at the fork. Looking back at the two men, "Um..." Getting cut off when the guy called out 'hey', Destiny spun around and shoved her sister into moving again, saying nothing to the men but calling to her sister. "Ari, run."

Demetri and Alistair watched after them for a moment, not moving a muscle from their positions, before turning to look at the villager that was the reason for their human's distress.

It was almost as the human was moving in slow motion as Demetri hummed in his throat, clasping his hands behind his back. "Someone should take care of that."

Alistair nodded at that, crossing his arms. "Master Aro will be most cross with us."

Tilting his head a little, Demetri spoke in an off handed voice. "I would think more so if we allowed the citizens to attack the tourists. Besides," smirking wide as he turned to face his partner, "the law is no feeding. Nothing was ever said about just destroying a very dangerous threat to the city. Also, I wouldn't think you would really want to ingest such foulness, would you? I certainly don't." Turning his back and walking up the path, "I will see them safely to the circle while you tend to this. They are completely turned around."

Nodding at his back, Alistair turned back to the human that was only just now getting close to him. Waiting for just the right moment, arms still crossed, he dipped low and twirled on his toes, bringing his leg up, his foot connecting with the human man' chest, knocking him back quite a ways before the human landed hard on his back. Returning to his position in a relaxed attention, he smirked. "Let us see how you fare against someone your own size, shall we?"

*X*

Demetri followed his nose a few blocks to where the scent of apple, citrus and spiced vanilla was most concentrated, giving away the hiding place the girls had chosen. Pausing a little when he heard panting interchanging with a whimper here and there, he turned his head, waiting a moment before he saw a black and red streaked head of hair poke out from a doorway. Keeping his position, he tilted his head slightly. "You never did say if you were in need of aid or not, Stella."

Dropping her head back on the wall, Destiny sighed a little, a whine in her throat as the action shifted her shoulder a little. Looked over at her sister for a minute, she licked her lips. "Come on. Let's see if he'll show us to the circle."

Arietta looked at her sister with slightly wide eyes, "Dez..."

Reaching into her boot, Destiny pulled out the spring loaded switchblade and slipped it into her sleeve. "Don't worry, Ari. I got this. Come on." Pulling her sister out of the doorway behind her, Destiny bit her lip a little as she approached the guy. "Can you show us to the main square, please?"

Nodding and holding a hand out next to him, "Of course. This way." Waiting until the girls were almost to the end of the alley, Demetri began to move towards the exit of the back streets and towards the main roads of the city. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw his human holding her shoulder once again while her twin clung to her bent elbow. Pressing his lips together a little, "Are you alright, Stella?"

Destiny lifted her eyes from the ground in front of her to meet his, making a noise in her throat. "Hmm, what? Oh, yeah, I'm alright. Thank you for asking, Mr..." Cocking a brow at him, she waited for him to take the hint and give up his name.

Smirking at her a little, "Just call me Demetri." With that, he turned back and faced forward as he continued on his path.

Running the ball of her tongue ring across her teeth a few times, Destiny nodded at his back, feeling all kinds of awkward at the moment. Letting the silence drag out for a minute or two, she clicked her tongue. "So, Demetri, you're from the city?" God she sounded like an idiot, even to herself.

Chuckling a little in his throat when the scent of mortified horror gripped his nose, he simply nodded. "Though not originally from the area, I have been here a very long time. I serve on the Royal Guard."

Jaw going a little lax, Destiny blinked a little at that before her fucked up mind began to picture him in a uniform. Biting her lip a little at the image that made, she puckered her lips a little. "That's cool. Must be a very thrilling and busy job."

Smothering a purr at the scent of arousal on the air, Demetri cleared his throat slightly. "It does have its moments," glancing over his shoulder, "Miss.?"

Grunting a little and making a little face, "Right, sorry, Destiny; but most people just call me Dez." Nodding over at her sister, "This is my sister Arietta."

Smiling slightly, Demetri dipped his head. "Enchanted, Ladies."

They had nearly made it back the circle by the time Alistair rejoined his partner. Smirking as Demetri cocked a brow at him, "Don't ask."

Chuckling a little, Demetri glanced over at him when Alistair fell into step with him. "Wouldn't dream of it." Looking over his shoulder and seeing the confusion on the girl's faces, Demetri smiled a little. "Ladies, this is my partner, Alistair. Alistair, these are Destiny and Arietta."

Looking at each other, Destiny and Arietta both thought the same thing at that, the hot ones are always gay, taken or both. However, Destiny still plastered a smile on her face. "De,. and that's cool. Nice to meet you. So, how long have you two been together?"

Both men catching the change in scent, they looked at each other before Alistair looked back at her. "I think, perhaps, there has been a mistake."

Holding up the hand that had been holding her shoulder, "Oh, I'm not judging. To each their own. If you guys are happy together, fuck what everyone else thinks."

Stopping completely at the statement, Alistair turned fully to face the girls. "Now I know there has been a mistake. Lady Dez, we're not gay. We both serve the Royal Family and are partnered together due to similar training."

Jaw dropping completely and her hand covering her mouth, Destiny stared at him with wide eyes for a moment before she could get her voice to work. "I'm so sorry. I just... the way that was worded... oh my God." Dropping her face into her palm, she whimpered out a little noise before she looked back up to the extremely amused faces of Demetri and Alistair, not knowing at all what to say to them.

Demetri looked at his human that not twenty minutes ago was a vengeful little demon at her sister's defense and was now just shy of tears in mortification. Smiling at her, "That was my mistake, Lady Dez. I apologize for the misunderstanding, I should have worded that differently." When she was still on the verge of tears, Demetri sighed a little. "Perhaps you would allow me to make up for it. Would you ladies care to join us for a drink this evening?"

The sisters looked at each other for a moment. After the last half hour, there was really nothing better sounding than alcohol, but there was a little problem with accepting the offer. Arietta turned back, "We're not old enough, yet. We won't be 21 for another couple of days."

Humming a little at that, Alistair glanced at Demetri a moment, "If you stay close to us, I do not think it will be too much of a problem, Lady Arietta."

Looking at each other again for a moment, Destiny shrugged her good shoulder slightly. "I'm game but it's up to you."

Biting her lip a moment longer, Arietta sighed a little and nodded. "Alright. I mean, not like the night can get any worse."

***X***

**Silly Ari, shouldn't have said that... *evil grin* **

**Let me know what you think.  
Speklez**

**P.S. For my naughties... If you enjoy slash stories, I have one posted on TWCS because there is no keeping anywhere near the TOS of FFn. You can find me very easy on that site... I post under the name Speklez there as well and I have a link up for it on my FB page. **

**That's it from me for now ~ Later**


	3. Chapter 3

***Scratches head* Yeah, not really sure where I've been on this story, but I do have quite a few chapters to post for it right not. Five, maybe six depending on how froggy I feel and how well my computer wants to behave. **

**Other than that, I don't really have a lot to say so...**

**On With It...**

***X***

A block from the bar, the sisters had separated and taken the presented arms of Demetri and Alistair, walking with them up to the door where the bouncer dipped his head a little and lifted the rope barring the entrance, "Master Demetri, Master Alistair, Ladies."

When there was no asking for identification, Destiny looked up at Demetri, not saying anything but looking at him with an expectant look. Demetri smirked down at her and fingered the pendant around his neck, "this is a 'do whatever the fuck I want' badge. It allows the guards liberties not afforded to the citizens of Volterra and it extends to those we say it does. Think of it as a little perk for risking our lives protecting the city and its inhabitants."

Just nodding at that, Destiny let him lead her up to the bar, Alistair and Arietta right behind them. Once there, Arietta and Alistair both ordered a scotch on the rocks prompting Destiny to gag a little at her sister, Demetri ordered a beer and Destiny got a red headed slut as a drink instead of a shot, which got her more than one raised brow from the guys, bartender included, and a snort from her sister.

Looking at them all with a little glare, "what? Shit's fucking fantastic and has zero bearing on my hair; which is black, thank you very much."

Arietta giggled a little into her glass, "have a few and repeat that, Dez."

Glaring at her beloved sister, "you're a bitch, Ari."

Pointing a finger at Destiny, Arietta grinned, "I learn this stuff from you, my dear sister. I mean, you are the older one after all." Giving her a drawn look, "look at what you have done to me, Destiny."

Picking up her glass when the bartender set it down next to her, Destiny smirked as she brought it to her lips, "oh, "I'll do something to you, alright. Don't forget, my dear twin, I know where you sleep at night."

The twins looked at each other a moment before they both snorted a little and began to laugh, Demetri and Alistair watching the banter between them with amused smiles on their faces. Leading the girls over to a table near the back of the bar, Demetri and Alistair helped them remove their jackets before pulling out their chairs, gaining them both little smiles of thanks as the twins sat down.

Sitting down as well, Demetri picked up his beer, looking over at Destiny, he could smell the pain in her scent from her shoulder but instead drawing attention to it, he cocked his head to the side, "so, what brings you two ladies to our humble little city?"

Swallowing a mouthful of delicious, Destiny smiled at him, "birthday present from our parents. We learned about Volterra in a mythology class we took in high school and have wanted to come ever since. Since we're getting ready to be old enough for their opinions to mean even less than they currently do, and because we have been talking about it for the last two and a half years, they set it up for us."

Demetri and Alistair locked eyes for a moment across the table before Alistair chimed in, "mythology class?"

Arietta hummed a little as she swallowed her drink, "mythology and folklore of the ancient world. You would think that in a class that the focus is vampires and werewolves, we would have spent most of the semester learning about Romania and Transylvania and places like that but we actually spent more time learning about Volterra and Saint Marcus than those places."

Taking a pull from his beer bottle, Demetri tisked a little, "so really, you're here on some sort of vampire hunt?"

Both girls giggled at that but Destiny answered, "of course not. While it would be pretty fucking cool if vampires were real, they're not so what would be the point of hunting one down? And really, what the hell would you even say to it? Hold your hand out, introduce yourself and be all like, 'hey, please don't eat me. That fat fuck over there probably tastes better'?" Missing the flash that went through the guy's eyes at the statement, Destiny took a drink with another little giggle before continuing, "no, we're here because we fell in love with the pictures in our textbooks and wanted to see it in person. Finding out if there is any truth to the legends would just be a bonus."

Alistair just nodded a little as he looked at Demetri again. Taking a drink of his scotch, "how long are you here for, if I may ask?"

Arietta smiled at him, "We'll be here until the Tuesday after the St. Marcus Day festival."

"Wonderful. You'll be here long enough for that ridiculous spectacle of a hunt held every year."

Demetri and Alistair shot out of their seats at the sound of the new voice, much to the shock of the twins as they blinked at the speed in which that happened. Perfectly in sync, Demetri and Alistair bowed their heads, speaking at the same time, "Master Caius."

Once the guards lifted their heads again, Caius waved at them to sit back down, "Not currently necessary, gentlemen." Holding a hand out to the empty seats at the table, "might we join you?"  
Demetri nodded as Alistair stood back up to pull out a chair for Athenodora, "of course, Master Caius."

Destiny and Arietta were so far past lost at the moment that Destiny's lack of couth and filter got the better of her, "who the fuck actually goes by Master insert name here?" While not saying anything, Arietta just nodded her agreement to the question presented.

Dropping his chin to his chest, Demetri grunted a little before leaning over and whispering in Destiny's ear, "he's a member of the Royal Family, Stella."

Eyes widening to owlish size, she turned her head slowly to look at Demetri, her voice flat and slow, "oh... that would explain that, then." Looking at her sister with the same wide eyes, "hear that, Ari, he's part of the Royal Family."

Arietta's hand came up and covered her mouth while at the same time, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Chuckling ever so slightly, Caius leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms, "It is quite alright, Bambina. There is very little way you could have known that not being from the country. Might I have your names?"

Giving him a small, unsure smile, Destiny squeaked out, "Destiny..." then her voice got a little influx to it, "Your Grace?" Then nodding across the table to her sister that was still overcome with a case of the facepalm, "this is my twin sister, Arietta."

Arietta just lifted a hand and curled her fingers in a little wave. It took her a minute but she was finally able to look at her sister again, "seriously, we really need to work on that filter of yours, Dez."

Destiny just kinda whimpered a little, "I know."

Athenodora giggled a little behind her hand while Caius chuckled again, "Charmed to meet you ladies. You learned my name already, and this is my wife, Athenodora."

Smiling at the still completely mortified humans, "It's a pleasure, Ladies, but please, just call me Dora."

Smiling back at her, Destiny turned to Demetri and asked him for her jacket, which he handed her with a raised brow. She didn't comment on that, simply excused herself from the table for a moment as she slipped it on after she stood.

Once she was away from the table, Arietta enlightened the confused vampires, "she's a little stressed out and a smoker. She'll be back in once she settles back down." Then she pressed her lips together a little with a hum, "eventually."

It was the added after thought ending that caused Demetri to look over at her, "eventually?"

Nodding a little, Arietta gave a little shrug, "I have never known her to run away before so I am able to say with certainty she'll be back. I just don't know how many cigarettes she is going to smoke first." Picking up her glass, "Dez has a mouth on her and she has never let anything stop her from speaking her mind, doesn't really matter who it is." Brow drawing slightly, "she's the kind of person that when faced with an obstacle, she doesn't try and move it or go around it, she blows it up. Give her time and she'll be back in."

Arietta was right, not ten minutes later, Destiny came back inside, looking much more relaxed and even had a real smile on her face when she slipped her jacket off, Demetri taking it from her and pulling out her chair. Once she sat back down, she turned to Caius and smiled at him, "sorry. I have had this lack of verbal filter my entire life and I have a tendency not to think before I talk."

Snorting into her glass, Arietta snickered, "true story. In high school she got a month of detention for telling a teacher to go screw himself."

Not fazed in the slightest, Destiny picked up her glass and pointed a finger at her sister, "I got detention for telling a chauvinistic pig to go fuck himself when I overheard him talking about the female student body... if you get my meaning, in ways that no one that is supposed to be responsible for our safety should." Smirking into her glass, "totally worth it to see the look on his face too."

Humming as she swallowed her drink, "which one was it again?"

Snickering, "Mr. Banner, the biology teacher I had my junior year. God damn, but he was an ass."

As the scotch began to really take effect, Arietta giggled, "you never actually told me how this one happened. What did you do the time you got arrested?"

Leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms, Destiny saw that that question had everyone looking at her for an answer. Finishing her drink and setting the empty glass on the table and locked her eyes on her sister's, "you tell mom and dad and I will murder you. That's a fucking promise, Ari, understand?" When her sister gave her a very enthusiastic nod, Destiny sighed a little before cocking her head to the side, "It wasn't completely my fault, however, I could certainly have handled the situation a little better than I did when I beat the absolute shit out of Mike Newton. The charges they wanted to press were assault and battery in the first degree, which was why I got arrested in the first place. By the time mom and dad were called the decision to drop down to the charge of the misdemeanor assault I have on record was made because Mike thought better about the reason I beat the absolute shit out of him getting out."

Pausing a moment to order another drink when the barmaid stopped at the table, Destiny continued in an off handed way, "once again, the six months of probation and eleven weeks of anger management I had to take were completely worth it to see his face everyday at school, black and fucking blue, knowing I was the one that finally taught the little bastard a fucking lesson."

Caius was actually the one that asked the question that everyone was thinking, "what was it the young man did, Tesoro?"

Arietta was too drunk to see it, but everyone else saw the shadow pass over Destiny's eyes at the question. Scratching her eyebrow with her nail, "with all due respect, I would really rather not talk about that part of the tail." Looking the Volturi King right in the eyes, "just know he deserved a lot worse than what I did."

Athenodora blinked a little at her, "if it was self..."

Destiny lit a cigarette, shaking her head as she took a hit and tossed her lighter on the table. Blowing out the smoke, "it wasn't SELF defense. It was defence of a third party but since I put Mike in the hospital, his parents demanded I get in trouble, regardless of the reason. Mike refused to tell why it happened, I never cared to tell someone else's business so I took the punishment in exchange for someone's privacy. I was sixteen at the time so it was too long ago to really matter much anymore."

Humming a little as he took a sip of his whisky, Caius gave the human a very impressed look, "you sound to be a very loyal young lady to those you care for."

Taking her drink from the returning barmaid with a smile, Destiny took a drink of it before responding, "I can honestly say that I would willing take a bullet for my friends. The thing about what happened with Mike, I didn't even like the bitch. The little hussy thought she was better than everyone else because she was dating Mr. Tall, Dark and fucked in the head Edward Cullen, the horrifically female looking guy with more money than God and a personality to make demons weep. The stone hearted little fuckwad had a possessive streak as long as Italy and was so controlling he thought he was better than Mother fucking Nature when it came to the weather. However, like her or not, no one deserves what I stopped from happening."

Caius nearly choked on his drink at the name drop. Clearing his throat a little, "Cullen? By chance is he related to Dr. Carlisle Cullen?"

Destiny snorted into her drink as the Jager began to take effect on her. "Yeah, that's his daddy dearest and a conditioning asshat. I had to get a cast put on because I broke three fingers on Mike's nose and the whole time he was dicking with my hand all he wanted to talk about was how violence is never the answer and there are always ways around it." Taking a hit off her cigarette, she pointed the cheery at him, "had I not already been in trouble, I would have shoved my cased hand up his uptight ass." Then she cocke her head to the side, "how do you have the displeasure of knowing that fucked up little family?"

"Old family friends."

Nodding slowly at that, "ah." Looking across the table to ask her sister a question, Destiny clamped her mouth shut with a click at the sight, her head tilting ever so slightly to the side. Pointing at the two empty seats that she didn't know were empty, "where the fuck is my sister? Better question, when the hell did she get up?"

Demetri looked over at her, "Alistair took her out for some air about five minutes ago."

Turning around to face the door, "is she alright?"

Grabbing her chair as Destiny went to get up and pulled it closer to his, "I'm sure she's just fine, Stella. As it is, Alistair is with her so she's safe. If it becomes an issue I have no doubt he will come and let you know."

Looking at him a moment, a slow grin lifted Destiny's lips as she slowly turned back to the door, "oh, and she gave ME shit about redheaded sluts. Aww, the little whore. I am strangely proud of her right now."

Athenodora blinked at her a little while Caius and Demetri snorted. It was Demetri that asked though, "why?"

Picking up her drink again as she put out her her cigarette, she grinned at him, "two reasons. The first is, on the evil twin good twin scale, she certainly takes the gold for being the good one. She NEVER does stuff like this and I think this will be good for her. The other is, the man is fucking ridiculously fuckable so there will be no hearing about coyote ugly shit going down for the rest of our vacation, again a good thing because I would really hate to have to kill my sister."

Caius pressed his lips together hard when he saw Demetri's eyes go much darker than they were a minute ago, a growl in his chest that wouldn't be heard by the human that completely oblivious to everything at the moment.

Demetri glared at the door from the corner of his eye, "is he now?"

Anthodora turned her face into Caius' shoulder at that to muffle her giggles, his hand coming up and resting on the back of her skull. He was certainly right when he told her that Demetri reminded him of himself when they had first met, she just didn't realize how much so until that moment. Caius as well was having flashback of centuries ago as he watched the scene unfold before him.

Destiny, not picking up on the darkness that had entered his voice, just nodded a few times, "Dude, totally. Remember, earlier I totally thought YOU were tappin' that ass." She did happen to see the glare she was getting at that point, so she backtracked, "alright, so he would have been tappin' yours. Either way, that alone should tell of the man's fuckablility." Lighting another cigarette and blowing the smoke out her nose, "not so much my type, though." Waving a hand in front of her face, "not into all that he's got going on. I like to actually be able to see the man's face, but hey, as I said before, to each their own. If my dear twin likes facial hair, who the hell am I to judge? It just doesn't happen to be my cup of tea."

Looking at his human, Demetri cocked a brow at her, "so, what is your cup of tea, Stella?"

Caius and Athenodora looked at each other, both wearing matching smirks and their eyes bright with mirth.

Destiny hummed a little as she took a hit of her cigarette. Playing with her tongue ring as the smoke drifted out of the corner of her mouth, she then blew it out and looked at Demetri, "clean shaven, spiky hair and knows how to ride a killer bike."

Smirking wide at her, "figured that out, did you?"

With the amount of alcohol she had ingested, Destiny just threw it out there, "oh, I have known since we ran into each other earlier." At his inquisitive look, she nodded at him, "your jacket. Trust me, I would know it anywhere."

"Would you?"

Smirking back at him, Destiny leaned forward and got close to his face, "without... doubt." Giving him a vixen worthy little look as she reached around him and plucked said jacket off the back of his chair, holding it by the sleeve and pointing, "it's missing a button and I can see it has been sewn, probably more than once." Giggling a little as she leaned back in her seat, "I have pretty good eyes and my memory ain't too shabby either."

Laughing a little, Demetri grinned at her, "you are a very dangerous little creature, aren't you?"

Tossing him back his jacket, Destiny laughed outright, "Oh, I would be unstoppable if not for law enforcement and physics. That shit will get you every time." Shifting a little in her seat, "and so does excessive drinking and a bladder." Standing up, "excuse me."

After Destiny left the table, Athenodora lost her composure and finally laughed, "she is an absolute delight, Demetri. Her sister seems like quite the little charmer as well..." humming a little, "in a far more reserved way, mind you, but still a very respectable young lady. It shall be very interesting to have a set of identical twins around the palace. Oh, I can just picture the mayhem those two are going to cause when they meet Felix. With the extremely miniscule differences between them, poor Felix is going to rip his hair out."

Demetri froze, his hand mid air as he was bringing his beer to his lips, eyes shooting to his master's mate, "Mistress Dora?"

Her smile never wavered, "you two were planning on bringing your future mates to meet the brothers and the other elites, were you not? If they are only going to be here a month, you certainly have your work cut out for you to get everything needed done, done in that time. As far as I was speaking when it came to Felix, the only difference between the girls is the way they have their hair and, as a man, he'll never notice it."

Demetri's brow creased a little, "they smell different as well, Mistress. Man or not, he'll notice that much."

Caius shook his head, "they do not. I could tell no difference in scent until after Destiny began smoking. Personality wise, there is no doubt as to who is whom but if you do not pay attention to their hair, and they modify their behavior, you could never tell one from the other."

Demetri frowned a little as he finally took a pull of his beer, his mind sifting through all the differences between them he had seen. Besides the spicy undertone to her scent, Destiny's eyes were different from Arietta's. Destiny's were riddled with green specks whereas her sister's had pops of yellow. Arietta wore her makeup in lighter, less bold tones where Destiny wore hers dark and in your face. They also dressed different. They both wore dark colors that made their skin look all the creamier and paler, but Arietta was more reserved in her choices than Destiny. Then there was the fact that Destiny had piercings and he had yet to see Arietta play with a ball in her tongue or any signs of a belly button ring.

Ripped out of his thoughts, Demetri snapped his eyes to his Mistress when she clapped her hands together.

Ginning wide at the tracker, Athenodora sighed a little, "oh, I know the perfect way to introduce them to the Guard and the Brothers. The Ball following the end of the festival."

As Demetri was about to decline that, Caius spoke first, "a wonderful idea, My Love. The entire guard will be present at the event so there will be no need to introduce the ladies one at a time." Then he smirked a little and pointed a finger at Demetri, "and until that day, you are not to touch Aro, for any reason and I will tell Alistair the same. I think it is time for my dear brother to learn a harsh lesson about privacy."

*X*

Outside the bar in the alley next to the building, Arietta and Alistair were sitting on a set of steps talking about nothing really, just getting a little air since it was a little too hot inside at the moment. Arietta felt bad for leaving without telling her sister she was doing so, but it wasn't like she was far or alone so she didn't think that Destiny would give her too much shit over it.

At least she hoped not.

Alistair was leaning back on the steps, one leg propping him up while the other was stretched out before him as he leaned heavily on his forearms behind him, one out to the side and around Arietta's back but not touching since she was leaning forward on her thighs, her fingers laced together between her knees.

Looking up at the sky, Arietta sighed a little, "I never see stars like this at home. The sky here is so beautiful."

Glancing up at the sky as well, Alistair shrugged a little. "I suppose when you see it all the time, it loses its appeal after so long." Looking back at her, "where is it you and your sister are from?"

Turning to face him with a small smile, "Washington originally. We live in Massachusetts now where we go to school. That's why we never see the sky at night. It's always cloudy."

Nodding a little, Alistair cocked his head in interest, wanting to know everything she was willing to tell him. "What do you study?"

Leaning back, popping back up when she felt his arm, she glanced back at it for a moment before thinking to hell with it and leaned back again. "I take classes in folklore and mythology with my focus on Greek Mythology and Dez is in for biochemistry."

A smirk pulling at his lips, Alistair chucked a little, "you two could not be more different, could you?"

Giggling at that, Arietta flipped her hair over her shoulder, "nope. Just because we look the same doesn't mean we are even close to being the same. As far as me and my sister go, it's like we're two halves of the whole person separated into two people. The whole 'good twin' 'evil twin' thing is not a bunch of crap. Just look at me and Dez. We hold a lot of the same interests but for the most part, that's about where our similarities end. Everyone just likes to think that because we look and think the same, we are the same, but we're not. You have seen it for yourself. I love my sister with everything I have but of the two of us, she would be the evil one."

"So you have never been arrested then?"

Shaking her head, "not even a detention in school. Destiny is a good person and will defend those she cares about to the depths of Hell itself if needed, she doesn't give a damn. As the other twin, the 'good' one, it's my job to keep her in line so she doesn't get into more trouble than necessary, something I take very seriously. We balance each other out and always have and probably always will."

Humming a little, Alistair clicked his tongue a bit. "So you two do everything together then?"

Arietta shrugged a bit, "pretty much but not everything. While we have a lot in common on a lot of things, there are a lot that we disagree on and see differently as well, endless hours of fun when we get into debates. We do however seem incapable of actually getting and staying mad at each other."

Cocking a brow at her, "and what would these differences entail?"

Grunting a little, Arietta scratched the back of her head and thought about that for a second, "well, superficial things mostly, our taste in cars, friends, guys, things like that."

Smirking a little, now we're getting somewhere, Alistair perked up a bit, "how big is the separation on those things?"

Dropping her head back on her shoulders, Arietta snorted, "light years apart. As far as cars go, Dez doesn't even like them unless they only have two wheels while I prefer something fast that won't kill me if it flips." Rolling her head on her shoulder to look at him, "We run in two completely different circles of friends back home and when it comes to guys, Dez likes a gentleman with a dark side while I just prefer a gentleman. She likes clean shaven and I disagree. I think facial hair shows maturity and she disagrees. She likes short hair that has a spike to it while I like longer hair."

The entire time she was talking, Alistair was watching her lips move, only listening with half an ear to what was coming out of them. Chances were, if you asked him later what was said, he wouldn't be able to give you a word by word play back like he should, but he also didn't really care. He heard enough of it to know that when he finally looked back into her eyes and slid his fingers into her hair, she wasn't going to protest when he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers.

Stunned for a moment at the action, Arietta blinked once before she let her eyes slide closed, melting slightly at the feel of his lips on hers. Turning her body a little, she set one hand on his chest while the other landed on the side of his neck for a moment before slipping up and into his hair. There was a reason she liked it longer and that was it. She loved to grab it and you can't do that as well with short hair.

When his human turned to him, Alistair moved the arm that was on the step behind her back around her waist, pulling her closer and tighter to his chest while letting the tip of his tongue slip past his lips and slide along the seam of hers, a soft growl building in his chest when she parted them.

With a quiet moan, Arietta opened her mouth and became a very active participant in the kiss. Tightening her grip on his hair, she tilted her head a little, allowing the kiss to deepen and turn a little more passionate.

The kiss lasted for about two minutes before there was a throat roughly cleared behind them that was horrifyingly female.

Arietta froze, lips still locked with Alistair's, her eyes flying open. She would know that voice anywhere, even when it isn't fully there.

Ever so slowly, she pulled away from Alistair, eyes still wide, absolute horror filling her hazel orbs when she saw not just her sister, but Demetri, Caius and Dora as well standing at the mouth of the alley. The Italians had smiles but her sister had a little smirk on her face as she crossed her arms and cocked a brow.

Licking her lips a little, Arietta cleared her throat lightly. "What are you doing there?"

Giggling a little, Destiny just smiled at her twin. "There was a fight inside so the bar closed. Caius and Dora have extended an invitation to us to join them at a club on the other side of the city, if you think you can pull yourself away from your current activities."

Nodding a little, "sure, sounds like fun."

Finally rolling off Alistair, Arietta got up with as much grace as anyone could in her position, taking his hand when he presented it to her to help her to her feet. Once she got close enough to her sister, Destiny linked their arms, winking at her a little, her eyes bright with excitement for her, prompting her to relax and smile back.

Destiny pulled her sister close to her side, leaning over and whispering in her ear, "You owe me details on how that shit happened."

As Arietta was nodding to her sister, Demetri simply cocked a brow at Alistair who just smirked a little and shrugged.

***X***

**Hmmm... something tells me that Aro isn't going to like this little lesson... *smirks***

**Later, **

**Speklez**


	4. Chapter 4

With a groan, Destiny reached up and pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes, "what the fuck was I thinking last night?"

There was a little giggle on the other side of the room, "I'm actually surprised you remember last night."

Cracking one eye open, Destiny smirked at her sister. "No one, and mean no one, calls me a fucking lightweight." Moving to sit up, a stabbing shot of pain ignited in her shoulder causing her to cry out and shoot to a sitting position, bringing her hand up and grabbing her shoulder in an attempt to put out the fire that was there. Teeth clenched and breathing hard, she turned her head and pulled the sleeve of her shirt away from her neck, grunting at the sight of the bruise that was there. "Well, that's gonna suck." Then her lip curled a bit, "why the fuck didn't that shit hurt last night?"

Coming out of the bathroom with some Tylenol and a glass of water, Arietta held them out to her sister. "If you could have felt your face last night, I would be impressed. My God Dez, a shot contest with a guy twice your size? Really?"

Taking the pills and rolling her shoulder, Destiny grimaced a little/ "I won didn't I?"

Giving her a flat look, Arietta rolled her eyes. "Not the point."

Swinging her legs off the bed, Destiny shrugged her good shoulder. "It was mine." Then she smirked, "so, you and Alistair looked awfully cozy last night."

Looking away from the look she was getting, Arietta clasped her hands behind her back. "Well, so did you and Demetri."

"But we weren't the ones making out on the side of a building, now were we?"

Opening her mouth to respond, Arietta snapped it shut again with a click. No, no they weren't and, other than some questionable dancing after that drinking contest, Destiny was actually rather well behaved for once. She was still vulgar, crass and extremely inappropriate, but she seemed far more interested in actually putting effort into getting to know Demetri personally and not just biblically. There was no doubt in Arietta's mind however, that neither of them would have declined had that option been presented last night. For once, Destiny had made the proper decision not to allow her alcohol intake to cloud her judgement completely and Arietta was sadly proud of her for it.

Destiny narrowed her eyes a little and leaned closer to her sister. "you are... are you blushing?"

Arietta's eyes snapped back to her sister's, her head shaking fast in the negative. "Of course not. And even if I was, it would be in memory of you on the dance floor."

Destiny pursed her lips a little, a smile tugging at her lips and a little sigh sounding in her throat as she too took a moment to reflect on that. Well, more specifically, the size of the bulge that had been pressed to the small of her back because of how much shorter than Demetri she was. Humming a little in her throat, "the things I really wanted to do to that man. Ah, well, there is always later. For now, I want to know how you came to be locked in that extremely passionate looking embrace last night. I was told you were a little overheated but, Jesus Ari, seriously?"

Making a noise in her throat, Arietta huffed a little and crossed her arms. "It's not like it's all that big of a deal. We were talking about stuff and he kissed me. That's it, all there is to tell."

Cocking a brow at her twin that was clearly not telling her everything, Destiny sighed a little. "Fine, don't tell me, I don't care. What I do care about is, did you at least get the man's number? Because if not, we have a little problem for as far down his throat as you had your tongue."

Glaring hard at her twin, Arietta nearly sneered. "Yes I got his number. Sheesh, I'm not a slut, damn."

Destiny giggled a little at that, "you wanna be his slut." Laughing outright and ducking the shirt that was thrown at her, "I didn't say that was a bad thing. It's certainly surprising, but not bad. Hey, you know me, I say go for it. But, my advice," setting her hand on her twin's bicep, Destiny looked her dead in the eyes, "keep your feelings and emotions in check. If you want to have fun, have a fling, do it, have a ball. Just keep in mind we are going home in four weeks. This will be our Vegas and what happens here, stays here, deal?"

Grinning a little, Arietta nodded, "deal." After a second, she cocked a little brow, "why didn't you whore it up last night? It's not like you weren't drunk enough for it to be excusable."

The most amused and sly looking grin came to Destiny's lips as her eyes sparked a little. "What makes you think I didn't? Just because I didn't get caught with my tongue down the man's throat, does not mean it wasn't. And I am not ashamed to say that I made the first move on that."

Winking at her twin, Destiny went to the closet and grabbed some clothes before heading into the bathroom to shower off the gross she could feel coating her skin. Before she got through the door though, Arietta blocked her path.

"What? After all that crap you just gave me, you did it too?"

Smiling wide at her, Destiny giggled a little. "Does this really surprise you? Demetri is all kinds of hot and I was all kinds of drunk. If I didn't kiss him, I would have to kill myself. You, on the other hand, never do shit like that so yes, a hard time was necessary."

Confusion coloring her face and tone, "when?"

Smiling wide, "right before we left the club while you were in the bathroom and Alistair was paying the tab. Total sneak attack on my part but goddamn, he was just.. ugh, no words." At the cocked brow she received from her sister, "alright, I got words, but I also gotta pee and I want a shower so they will wait for twenty minutes so I can get clean."

Before Destiny was able to shove her sister out of the way, there was a tap on their door pulling a whine from her throat and a wince to take over her face. Lightly rubbing her temple as she tossed the clothes in her arms on the bed, Destiny opened to to find Mrs. Mancini standing there with a tray of little finger pastries, a carafe of coffee with all the fixings and two cups.

Giving the clearly hungover young lady before her a smile, "good afternoon, Stella. I brought you two something to finish soaking up that alcohol from last night and something to perk you up."

Grimacing a little, Destiny moved to the side to let her in the room. "We didn't wake you when we got in, did we Mrs. Mancini?"

Shaking her head as she set the tray down, she turned back with that same smile. "Oh, no Child. When you two didn't come back before we went to bed, we figured you two went out for a night on the town. When you missed breakfast it was pretty easy to figure out. You know, we were young once too and know the face of a hangover as well as anyone." Mrs. Mancini then perked up a little before pulling two envelopes out of her apron, "now, who is who?"

Smiling a little, "I'm Destiny and that's Arietta."

Tittering a little as she gave the right envelop to the right twin, "however do your parents tell you apart so that I might know their secret?"

Arietta snickered a little as she took the offering. "When we were little it was the color of our clothes and now it's how we have our hair. Mine has been mostly red for the last few years and Dez keeps hers mostly black and adds the streaks when necessary."

Grinning a little, Mrs. Mancini titled her head to the side, "so, if you were to do the same thing with your hair..."

Destiny snorted as she pulled the paper out of her envelope, "not even our parents could tell the difference." Then she cocked her head to the side a little, "well, until we start talking anyways." Turning to her sister, "remember that horrible hairdresser that royally fucked up our hair three years ago?" Arietta grunted a little and Destiny turned back to the lady of the house, "this chick was supposed to have been some highly recommended hair stylist or some shit, and we went to this charity event our first year of college. It was supposed to raise money for stem cell research so all these well known stylists came in and all the proceeds went to this cause. Well, this tiny little whirlwind of a midget was so excited to be working on twins that she forgot to set the timer on the developer that was in our hair, used the wrong dye and actually tried to use a set of buzz clippers on my head. What was only supposed to be a simple coloring turned into six months of multi colored clown hair and academic probation for me for threatening her. During that time, because we both had fucked up hair, no one knew which was which until it was safe to dye our hair again and it not fall out."

Arietta chimed in at that point, "that was the only time in our lives we didn't correct someone if they picked the wrong name out of the hat. Her business partner was so worried about the butcher job done on us that he offered to personally fly us to New York and fix our hair for free since we had to pay for that horrible service." Looking at her sister, "what was his name again?"

Humming a little, Destiny smiled. "Jasper." Then she scowled, "the little twit that doesn't know the difference between black and blue was named Alice. The only good thing that came from that fucked up experience was that Jasper actually knew what the hell he was doing and between him and his assistant Charlotte, we left the salon looking like normal people and not circus clown rejects."

Smirking at Destiny, Arietta crossed her arms, "really? I would have thought Peter had something to do with it."

Face going flat, Destiny picked up a pastry and threw it at her sister. "Sure, THAT you remember." Looking back at the card in her hand, she opened it and blinked a little before narrowing her eyes a bit, "what the fuck is this?"

Giggling a little, Mrs. Mancini grabbed the glasses that were hanging around her neck and held her hand out, "may I?"

Nodding and handing the card over, "would you?"

Looking at the front of the card, the old lady's eyes widened a little at the sight of the Volturi coat of Arms on the front. Glancing at the girls a moment, wondering a little if they had not ended up getting in trouble on their first night in the city, Mrs. Mancini opened the card and blinked a little as well when she read it.

"This is an invitation to attend the ball following the main St. Marcus festival in three weekends." Handing it back over and taking her glasses off, she smiled at the girls as they looked at the invitation in their hands before looking at the one in her sister's before looking back at their own. After a moment, "these are very coveted invites, ladies. There are some very prominent and respected families here in the city that do not even merit an invitation to this party. Out of an old lady's curiosity, how did you come to get one?"

Looking up at Mrs. Mancini, Destiny looked at her sister a minute before looking back. "We met a couple of the guards last night while we were out. We got lost in the alley system and they helped us find the circle. We ended up having a couple of drinks with them and they walked us back here since it was so late."

At that, it looked like Mrs. Mancini was about to have a heart attack. She brought a hand up to her chest and her eyes went wide, "royal guards were here, at my home?"

Not knowing if she was upset or not, Arietta spoke up. "We're sorry, Mrs. Mancini. It was just really dark and we had already gotten lost once last night, they thought..."

Before Arietta was able to finish her apology, the brightest smile they had ever seen lit up the old lady's face. "I simply cannot wait to rub that old Patricia's face in the fact there were guards here." Looking at the girls, "you must tell me which ones they were."

Looking at each other with wide eyes, Destiny and Arietta were silent for a moment before Destiny looked at the, apparently, vindictive lady of the house. "Um, Demetri and Alistair."

Mrs. Mancini clasped her hands together and beamed at them. "Oh, and elite guards at that." Turning to the door, "I have a phone call to make. You girls enjoy your day and if you need anything, please, remember not to hesitate to ask."

The twins watched the old lady move faster than any old lady should, their heads cocked to the side a little, matching faces of incredibility. Neither one said a word for a minute before Destiny said she was getting in the shower and Arietta said she would get the coffee ready.

***X***

**Speklez**


	5. Chapter 5

Demetri was stretched out on his bed, one knee bent with his foot on the mattress and one hand behind his head, eyes closed listening to his iPod, head bobbing slightly to the music in his ears. He had not move from that position since he dropped there hours ago. When returning from a mission, there is very little as far as things expected of you for at least a week so he took advantage of the down time and simply replayed the night before in his mind, over and over as the scent of apples, citrus and spiced vanilla surrounded him as it radiated off his jacket that he had yet to take off.

Mistress Dora had informed both him and Alistair of her plans to send out an invitation to the ball at the end of the month and by his calculations, they should have delivered by now. A slow smirk pulled at his lips as he pictured his extremely rough around the edges human at this extremely formal event. It was the only time of the year that humans came into the palace and left with their pulse intact. He also made a mental note to put the word out to the only dress shop in the city that carries formal attire that the twins were personal guests and to send the bill for their dresses to him and Alistair without the girls knowing about it.

Taking a deep breath of the scent around him, a purr sounded from his chest as he slowly became intoxicated by it. With the scent came another bombardment of the night before when he was taken off guard for the first time in a very long time.

Arietta had went to the bathroom and Alistair had went to the bar to close out the tab for the night. He had lended a hand to Destiny as she continued to dance and spin around just off the dance floor as they waited for them. In her drunken state, she had misjudged the position of her feet and ended up tripping herself. He saved her from falling, again, by twirling her into a dip. She had laughed hard for a minute before opening her bright hazel eyes and giving him a smile before throwing her arms around his neck, lifting herself back up and crashing her lips to his.

It had actually stunned him for a moment.

But that was all.

His eyes slipped closed as a growl worked its up his throat and he took over the kiss. He hadn't even needed to ask for permission to enter, she was a very willing participant, her lips parting for him at the same time his did. She had pressed herself so hard against his chest he actually felt her moan rumble. One of her arms tightened around his neck while the other had slipped down and she grabbed the lapel of his jacket, using that the pull him even closer.

She only allowed her tongue to battle his for a moment before she submitted to him, melting completely as he explored and tasted every inch of her mouth, committing every ridge, the flavor, the feel, that fucking tongue ring, all of it to memory.

The kiss didn't last long, but long enough for the daylight hours to be a slow torture to the tracker as he waited for his chance to do it again.

Demetri had no idea how many times he replayed that kiss in his mind before there was a knock on the door, pulling him out of it right before he heard her voice once again say, full of a giggle and mirth, 'I have been dying to do that all night.'

With a slightly growled out sign, Demetri called out permission to enter, opening his eyes and rolling his head to the side, waiting on Felix to open the damn door, not saying a word as he pulled his earphone out and cocked a brow in question when his friend finally revealed himself.

Felix only meant to poke his head in and give the message he was sent to deliver but when the very tasty scent of apples caught his nose, his nostrils flared a little before he looked at Demetri, blinking a little when he saw black eyes looking back at him. Having no idea what he did and not wanting to find out at the moment, he got to his mission. "Master Marcus has requested to see you as soon as possible."

Nodding in reply, Demetri continued to glare at Felix until the door was closed again. That scent, and the human that belonged to it, belonged to him and he would have no issues removing his best friend's nose it he caught him showing any interest in it again.

Turning off his music, Demetri shed his jacket and changed quickly before leaving his chambers and heading down to where Marcus was waiting for him. After arriving and bowing to one of his masters, Demetri stood and clasped his hands behind his back, looking expectantly at Marcus.

Marcus looked up from his book at Demetri for a moment before turning back to his reading. "I do not know if you have heard yet or not, Demetri, but this afternoon is calling for a heavy cloud coverage in preparation for a series of thunderstorms that are coming through the area. From the article in the paper today, we are looking at covered skies and rain for the foreseeable future." Moving only his eyes, a very tiny smile pulled at his lips at the spark of excitement in the tracker's eyes. Clearing his throat a little, "I see no need for you to be cooped up in the palace since you have been running around the continent for so many days. It must be dreadfully dull after that much entertainment."

Dipping his head, Demetri turned to leave only to pause when Marcus spoke again. "Take Alistair with you. You know it is expected for the guards to always be in pairs."

Once again dipping his head in acknowledgement, Demetri located Alistair within the confines of the palace and headed his way, also keeping tabs on Aro's location since he had been forbidden from contact until the ball.

Once he located the other tracker, Demetri leaned on the door to the room his was in, clearing his throat a little to catch his attention. Once he had it, he smirked, "Master Marcus has just informed me of the weather for the afternoon." At the look in Alistair's eyes Demetri jerked his head, indicating for him to follow. Once Alistair was out in the halls, Demetri looked either way before lowering his voice, "get dressed. We have some humans to surprise."

It didn't take much longer after the vampires were ready to leave the palace that the sun slipped behind a never ending wall of clouds. Walking down the front steps, they nodded at Afton and Corin as they passed them. Turning to walk backwards when they were called to, they paused as Afton came up to them, "lovely weather, isn't it. We were thinking of heading to the bar after we check in. Care to join us?"

Demetri glanced at Alistair for a moment in thought before shrugging, "perhaps. We are currently on an errand for Master Marcus. However, we might meet you there later."

Once Afton nodded and turned to catch up with Corin, Demetri and Alistair continued on their way. After a marginal distance between them and the palace, Alistair turned to Demetri, "do you think they will be up for another night of drinking?"

Demetri chuckled, "I guarantee it. Their livers, however, are a different matter entirely. Arietta I have no doubt is faring far better than Destiny is."

Alistair snorted, "that I do not doubt in the slightest. Dear Lord, have you ever seen a human female of her size drink that much before? How she managed to not get sick still escapes me."

Demetri smirked a little before looking over at him. "Well, she was certainly right on one point she made last night. She said she would be unstoppable if not for law enforcement and physics. So far, I have yet to see a single thing to discount that."

Reaching the house they had dropped the twins off the night before, Demetri walked up to the door and gave it a knock, Alistair standing beside him, both standing with their hands clasped behind their backs when an elderly lady opened the door.

Smiling at her, Demetri dipped his head. "Buon pomeriggio, Nonna. Per caso sono Destiny e Arietta qui?"

Mrs. Mancini blinked at the sight of two of the elite royal guards standing on her porch. It took a moment for the shock to wear off but when she finally remembered herself, she nodded and moved to the side, "Oh, sì, lo sono. Vuoi entrare?"

Bowing slightly to her, Demetri and Alistair slipped past her and into the house, removing their hoods once inside, "grazie, Nonna."

Shutting the door, Mrs. Mancini took a deep breath to calm herself back down before turning to the extremely attractive gentlemen in her living room. Smiling at them, "I'll let the girls know you're here. Can I get you anything while you wait?"

Both still smiling at the adorable little lady, they shook their heads as Alistair responded, "very kind of you, Madam, but we're fine, thank you. But, if it is not overly much to ask, do not tell them we are here."

The smile on Mrs. Mancini's face turned sly as she moved over to the steps, going about a quarter of the way up before calling out, "Dez, Arietta, would you two be so kind as to come down and give me a hand for a moment?

The vampires heard a door open up the steps before the sound of one set of footfalls reached their ears. Glancing at each other a moment, they turned to the steps when they heard a voice, "Dez is getting dressed so she'll be a minute."

Arietta came bounding down the steps, making it about halfway before she almost fell down to the bottom at the sight of Demetri and Alistair standing in the middle of the living room. Turning to look at Mrs. Mancini, she tripped over her tongue a few times before she could get out, "you don't actually need help, do you?"

Mrs. Mancini just shook her head and smiled, "no. You and your sister have visitors and they asked not to tell you."

Looking over at the guards with a slight glare, "mean." Walking the rest of the way down the stairs, "Dez'll be down in a min... oh... crap." As she was about to turn and stop her sister from coming down in the chosen top, Destiny was already on the steps, rubbing her hair with a towel.

Mrs. Mancini's jaw dropped a little at the sight that met her eyes when she glanced back up the steps, "good heavens child. Whatever happened to you?"

Destiny still had not noticed there were other people in the house and dropped her arms that had been holding the towel up hiding the massive bruise on her shoulder. Looking at it, she wrinkled her nose, "don't ask. We'll just say last night ended much better than it started." Then she looked up with a smile, "what did you..." out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of the additional people at the party.

Eyes snapping to her sister's, who looked as irritated at the misleadance as she was, Destiny sighed a little before glaring over at Demetri. "Ass... hole."

Demetri smirked a little, but his eyes were on the bruise that took up his human's entire shoulder, went down partway on her arm, up her neck and he was pretty sure it wrapped as far around her back as it went down her chest. Moving his eyes to her face, "apologies, Stella."

Destiny snorted and crossed her arms, "yeah, I bet." Then she cocked her head a little, "I thought you guys said that you had business to take care of today. What are you doing here?"

"We were able to put it off and had thought to surprise you."

Snorting again, Destiny nodded as she skipped the rest of the way down the steps, "mission accomplished. We are completely surprised. And as much as I really shouldn't be, I am mildly surprised you got Mrs. Mancini in on it as well."

When both girls were on the first floor, they made their way over to their respective hotty, giving them a hug before stepping back again.

Alistair perked slightly as something occurred to him. "Did you two receive your invitations to the ball?"

Arietta nodded with a smile, "yeah, we got them earlier. Not to sound ungrateful, but why did you send them?"

Demetri answered that. "We didn't actually. You two made quite the impression on Lady Dora last night. She sent them and sends her truest desire that you accept her invitation."

At that, Arietta glanced at her sister, who didn't currently have eyebrows they were so far up her forehead at the comment, and bit her lip before looking back. "We'll talk about it and let you know."

Alistair smirked a little, "you will hurt her feeling if you decline."

Destiny groaned a little, a pout on her face. "Are we talking like, black tie, formal, you must be on your best behavior type thing? Cause let's be honest, my best behavior is really not that very well behaved."

The vampires had matching looks of amusement on their faces at that, clearly remembering the club from the night before. Demetri gave her a sly little grin, "only until after the honoraries are taken care of. After that, not really."

Still pouting a little, Destiny rolled her head on her shoulders. "We'll talk about it."

Knowing that was the best they were going to get at the moment, the topic was dropped and another was brought up by Alistair, "do you two have plans for the afternoon?" When the twins shook their heads, he smiled. "Wonderful. Go get dressed to go out. There are places around the city we wish to take you."

For as innocent as a statement as that was, the twins didn't think anything innocent about it.

Nodding anyways, the girls went back upstairs, Destiny running a brush through her hair, grabbing their jackets and heading back down, ready to see what it was the guys wanted them to see.


	6. Chapter 6

Over the passing weeks, Destiny and Arietta spent most of their free time with Demetri and Alistair, who were actually able to avoid Aro as ordered, seeing everything the city had to offer.

For as much as they tried to keep it from happening, those damn feelings started to surface and take over, whispering in their ears that they can always transfer schools and finish their degrees in Florence and just not go back home. It was a pipe dream if there ever was one because their parents would kill them, but that didn't stop them from staying up at night talking about it.

They only had another few days left in Italy, less than week in total before they would have to say good-bye and return to their lives and studies; and neither one had any desire to do so. Destiny had told her sister to keep her feelings in check, to keep them out of it and just have fun, and dear lord did both of them try, but Demetri and Alistair were perfect in literally every category there was.

It sucked.

It was Friday, the first day of the Saint Marcus Festival and the girls were getting ready to head down to the circle for the opening. Since they served the guard, Demetri and Alistair had other obligations for the day but had promised to meet up with them later that afternoon leaving them to their own devices.

They didn't like it.

Dropping onto her bed, Destiny propped her chin in her hand and looked over at her sister as she was finishing her hair. "This shit sucks."

Looking at her twin through the mirror, Arietta nodded. "Yeah, but hey, it's a party. Let's just try and have fun."

Destiny wrinkled her nose as she grabbed her boots. "I don't wanna."

"You're being a baby."

Destiny stuck her tongue out at her sister before she shrugged and pulled on her boots, standing and grabbing her jacket. "Well, at least we didn't have to buy those ugly ass red cloaks and can just wear these." Head popping up, "oh, shit. Is the bank open today? Those fucking dresses are gonna cost an arm and a leg when we pick them up tomorrow and I know the bank won't be open then."

Eyes going wide, Arietta whirled around, "I don't know but I'm not ready yet since someone took forever in the bathroom."

Giving her sister the finger, Destiny pulled her jacket on and went to the door, "you finish doing what you need to and meet me at the fountain in thirty. I'll run to the bank and get cash for us for the weekend."

Only kinda hearing the call of be careful, Destiny darted down the steps, giving a half assed greeting and parting to Mr. and Mrs. Mancini before flying out the door. Since the twins had been over every last inch of the city, there was no doubt in her stride as she weaved through the alleys and walkways. When she reached the main circle, she skidded to a stop, jaw dropping at the massive sea of red that was between her and her destination. "Are you fucking kidding me? Seriously? It's like, nine in the morning."

With a groan and a thank god her shoulder was finally healed all the way, Destiny started running again, not caring as she pushed and shoved her way through the people that were in her way. While it would normally take under five minutes to get across the circle, it took her almost fifteen because people were just not getting the fucking hint and moving.

Once on the other side of the sea of assholes, Destiny bolted again, covering the last three blocks to the bank in no time only to see it was closed for the weekend. "Oh, mother fucker." Leaning on the side of the building and putting her hands on her knees, she panted for breath for a minute before leaning back again against the wall, a small scowl on her face. This was just perfect. Since they were never told the price of the dresses, she had no idea how much they were going to have over and above that to spend for the day.

Growling a little, Destiny's head snapped to the side when she heard someone clear their throat. Blinking a little, she then cocked a brow. "You're supposed to be working."

Demetri smirked, chuckling a little as he crossed his arms. "Believe it or not, I am actually. There was a report of a young lady acting inappropriately and I was told to check it out. Imagine my extreme surprise when it turned out to be you they were talking about."

Glaring over his shoulder at the masses that were watching the happenings, she turned back to Demetri. "Okay, one, that was mean, you son of a bitch. And two, if they would have just moved, they wouldn't have gotten knocked around."

Shaking his head and looking up to the sky, "what am I ever going to do with you, Dez?" Looking back at her, "what exactly were you trying to do?"

Dropping her head back to the wall again, "get to the bank to exchange some cash since we have to pay for our dresses tomorrow and between that and all the wonderful accessories that go with them, that's about the last Lira we have on hand. The rest is still U.S. currency and no one here takes that and since this seems to be more a street fair than anything, I doubt they take credit cards. However," rolling her head to the 'closed' sign on the door of the back, "it seemed to have been all for not anyways."

Humming in his throat a little, Demetri nodded. "I see." Seems the owners of the dress shop did keep their mouths closed about the fact that dresses were already paid for. He and Alistair had declined the offer of a description on them but they paid the bill almost two weeks ago. Cocking his head to the side for a moment, he then reached up and unclasped his necklace while she was still looking away, "come here."

Turning back and looking at him with a shocked expression. "Why?"

Giving her a flat look, "just come here, Dez. I'm not gonna bite you." Yet.

Doing as she was told, Destiny pushed off the wall and walked over to him, turning around when he told her to.

Draping his pendant around her neck and clasping the chain, "this will help with that little problem of yours. Do not take it off and do not lose it. I will expect to get it back later this afternoon."

Bringing her fingers to her throat, Destiny picked up the pendant while turning around to look up at him. "You're out of your mind, Dem."

Crossing his arms again, he cocked a brow at her. "Why? Every last person within the walls of the city know who I am and what that is. I don't really need it at the moment since I'm running security for the day. You wearing my necklace will tell the vendors that you are here as my guest and react accordingly. If anyone does give you any problems, just tell them to have me summoned and I will straighten it out."

Shaking her head a little, "I just can't believe you trust me with it. You never take it off."

Shrugging a little, Demetri set a hand on the small of her back and pulled her along with him back into the circle. "Well, not like you'll get very far if you try and steal it, would you? That coat of Arms is one of the most recognized sights in the country, only second to the Vatican in Rome. Plus, I know you'll keep it safe until my shift ends." Once they reached the circle again, Demetri looked down at his human and smiled at her. "I must return to my station. I will see you later today. If you need anything, look for the black hoods. Those are the guards. Just ask any one of them and they will retrieve either myself or Alistair, whichever one of us is available."

Nodding to him, Destiny grabbed the pendant around her neck again, calling out for him to wait as he was walking away. When he paused and turned back to look at her, she bit her lip a little. "You won't get in trouble for giving me this, will you?"

Smirking slightly as he heard the quiet murmurs from the crowd, Demetri shook his head.  
"There is a difference in giving and lending, Tesoro." He was only barely able to stop himself from rolling his eyes at the gasps the endearment caused. "Have fun and I will see you this afternoon."

"Where do you wanna meet so you don't have to hunt me and Ari down?"

Humming a little, Demetri began to walk backwards. "Our shift ends at two so let's say the clock tower at two thirty."

Smiling a little with a nod, Destiny waved a little at him. "Sounds good. See ya then."

Nodding at her, Demetri turned back and continued on his way, only to pause and turn to look over his shoulder, "oh, and Destiny..." when she looked back at him, he smirked at her, "do try and stay out of trouble, would you? I would really hate to have to detain you for the rest of the day because you seem incapable of behaving."

Destiny just scoffed a little before turning away with a huff, her hair flying out behind her, raising her arm and giving Demetri the finger as she walked away, causing a fond smile to pull at the vampire's lips, much to the shock and amazement of the onlookers.

"That's my girl."

By the time Destiny made it back to the fountain, Arietta was already there waiting. Seeing her sister approach her, Arietta stood up, her eyes falling right on the gold pendant around Destiny's neck. "Where did you get that?"

Picking up the pendant once again and looking at it, "Demetri." Looking back up at her twin, "the bank was closed for the rest of the weekend, so he gave me this and told me that it would help with that, but didn't actually say how."

Pursing her lips a little, Arietta shrugged. "Huh... well, let's just go get something to eat and figure it out later. I grabbed some money figuring whatever we were short cash wise tomorrow, we can always put the overage on a card just incase the back was closed."

Nodding at that, "sounds good. I am fucking starving."

Linking arms with her sister, Arietta giggled. "You're always starving, Dez."

Destiny just shrugged a little as they headed to their favorite bistro off the circle. Conversation over breakfast was light, the twins just figuring out what they wanted to do to pass the time until they had to head to the clock tower. Destiny completely ignored everyone that was looking at the necklace around her neck only because every time she tried to tell someone to stop fucking staring at her, Arietta would give her that 'look' of hers that told her to keep her mouth shut.

It wasn't easy.

It was a pretty normal breakfast until they asked for the check and the waiter actually laughed at them. Blinking a little, Arietta cocked her head to the side, "what's so funny?"

The waiter, still chuckling a little as he picked up the plates, "you are, Signora. No one affiliated with the Royal Guard is billed here." At their confused faces, the waiter cocked a brow and looking at Destiny, "your necklace, Signora. It is a guard pendant, is it not?" When Destiny nodded and told him which one gave it to her, the waiter's eyes went a little wide. "Then your meal is on us. Have a wonderful day, Signoras."

Watching after him a moment, the girls looked at each other, Destiny's jaw lax as she once again fingered the pendant. "So, that's what he meant.


	7. Chapter 7

The morning and early afternoon hours were spent wandering around the streets, looking at the handmade wares that were only sold during this time of year. They were so engrossed that they lost track of time and missed their meeting with Demetri and Alistair at the clock tower. They were also so interested in this one tent of handmade, extremely intricate jewelry that they didn't notice when the guys came up behind them, looking over their shoulders at the nearly identical chokers for sale, the only differences being the color of the jewels used.

Lowering his voice and turning his head, Demetri whispered in Destiny's ear, scaring the absolute shit out her. "That would look lovely on you."

With a shriek, Destiny whipped around, making both Demetri and Alistair laugh. Hand over her pounding heart, she glared at him. "You mother fucker. That was so not cool."

Still laughing a little, Demetri smirked at her. "Then maybe you two should have been at the clock tower twenty minutes ago if you wanted to avoid that."

Blinking at him, Arietta pulled up her sleeve to look at her watch, jumping a tad at finding out it was almost three. Looking back up at them, and to keep her sister from hitting, she moved a little between the two, "sorry. Lost track of time."

Smiling at her, Demetri nodded, "we figured. However, it really wasn't that hard to find you. All we had to do was follow the whispers over the fact that there was a lady in red wearing a guard's pendant when it is widely known we wear black."

Still glaring at him, Destiny huffed a little, "yeah, by the way, thanks for the warning that should come inscribed on the back of it." Then she reached up behind her neck to unclasp it only for Demetri to grab her wrists making her cock a brow at him.

Winking at her, he pulled her arms down to her sides. "Leave it on." When her brow slid a little higher up her forehead, Demetri turned back to the table and pointed to the choker she had just been looking at. "Can I see that please?"

When the lady handed it to him, Destiny turned to look at her sister, who was looking back at her with wide eyes as Alistair was picking up the other one. That twin communication thing going on again, they both shook their heads a little only to snap both their attentions back to their respective guard when they said they would take them.

Blinking at Demetri, Destiny shook her head a little as he dropped the case into the bag hanging off her arm, "Dem... seriously? That choker cost a fortune."

Shrugging as he got his change, he looked down at her. "Your point? Think of it as one less thing to get for the ball tomorrow."

Making a little noise in her throat, "Dem..."

Taking her arm and wrapping his, Demetri turned to Alistair, cutting his human off, much to her annoyance. "So, how about meeting at the bar after dinner. Mistress Dora and Master Caius will be there and the Mistress wants to see these two again."

Nodding at him and setting his hand on the small of Arietta's back, "sounds like a plan."

Scoffing a little, Destiny glared up at them. "Yeah, sure, sounds perfect. Thanks..."

Cutting her off again with a wide smile, Demetri nodded. "Wonderful. Glad you agree as well. I figured you would argue with me." Turning back to Alistair when she growled a little, "see you two in a few hours."

*X*

Arietta watched at Demetri led her fuming sister away, suppressing a smirk as she giggled a little. "I really don't feel bad for him."

Looking down at her, Alistair cocked a brow. "What do you mean?"

There was no keeping the smirk at bay when she looked up at him. "I don't know if you noticed, but Dez doesn't take kindly to being told what to do. She is going to kick his ass."

She'll need to get used to it. Smiling a little, Alistair led her from the tent they were in out into the crowd. "I'm sure even if she is upset now, it will not last long." After a few minutes of walking in silence, "so, how have you enjoyed your vacation so far?"

Groaning a little as her head fell back on her shoulders, "I don't wanna go home next week." Looking up at him, "if I didn't have another year of school left, I would totally stay here. Or even if my major was offered in Florence I would transfer. But since it's not..." sighing a little, "oh well. I guess Massachusetts isn't that bad. Besides, it's only a year." Then she giggled a little, "that's better than Dez. She still has two years before she gets her degree."

Over my ashes will it be a year. Smiling at her, "what are your plans after you complete your studies?"

Shrugging a little with a small hum, "I don't really know yet. I'm gonna stay with Dez in Boston till she's done then we had plans to travel and see the world, but really, I don't think that's going to happen anymore."

"Why is that? I have seen a lot of places and there are many that I would love to see again."

Cocking her head a little, "well, because there is too many other things we need to do first before we get to that. This vacation was enough of a break from reality to be able to buckle down and become responsible adults for a while. There are student loans that are going to need to be repaid and everything that entails. Destiny has a full other year to go. Traveling the world is a dream that may or may not come true. But that's what a dream is though, right?"

I wouldn't know. It has been centuries since my last dream.

Alistair and Arietta spent the rest of the time before dinner simply walking the streets, stopping if something caught her eye, talking about all matter of things until her stomach growled. Taking her to one of the little cafes that she pointed out, Alistair sat at one of the tables while Arietta went to use the restroom. Once she returned, they talked while she ate, Alistair claiming to have had a large lunch shortly before meeting up with the girls.

Playing with the chain in his hand for a moment as she finished up, Alistair cocked his head a little. "Arietta," When she looked up at him with a smile, "if I made a request, would you do it?"

Giving him a little look and leaning back in her seat, Arietta crossed her arms. "That would depend on what it was. You do not have Destiny as a sister and agree to anything without finding out what it is first. I learned that lesson the hard way a long time ago."

Chuckling a little, "do you honestly expect it to be bad?" Alistair snorted a little when all she did was cock a brow at him. It would appear he had a story to wrestle out of the other twin later that night on just what it was that made this twin so distrusting of random requests. Running his fingers through his hair once, "since you are leaving in a few days, I want you to have something, but, if I give it to you, you have to wear it."

Blinking at him a few times, Arietta just kinda pursed her lips, "I planned on wearing the choker you bought for me tomorrow and I already have it."

Scratching his chin through his beard, Alistair shook his head. "No, I wasn't talking about that. For all I care, you don't even have to ever wear that. No, I was talking about something else."

Lip curling in the corner and head turning slightly to the side, Arietta blinked again, "the earrings?"

"No..."

"The..."

Holding up a hand to try and cut her off, Alistair tripped a bit over his tongue, "no, Tesoro. It's something you don't already have possession of. It's something of mine." At the pure confusion on her face, Alistair just stood up and moved to stand behind her, wrapping the chain in his hand around her neck, clasping his guard pendant on place. "I was talking about this."

Hand flying to her throat, fingers curling around the gold pendant, Arietta whirled around in her seat, staring up at him. "Are you serious? Won't you get in trouble?"

Smiling at her, he held out a hand to help her to her feet. "I will worry about that. I just want to make sure you never forget your time here."

At that, Arietta snorted hard, knowing what he was really trying to say but being a man was completely incapable of doing so.

"Like I could."

*X*

By the time Alistair and Arietta made it to the bar, Demetri and Destiny were already there sitting at the same table as last time with Caius and Athenodora. When they got to the table, Destiny popped up out of her seat and grabbed Arietta's wrist and drug her along with her to the bathroom, leaving the vampires to just watch after them.

Shaking his head a little, Caius turned to the guards and smirked. "You two... are in DEEP shit. Giving your ranking to a couple of females, really? You do know what my brother is going to say when he finds out about this, do you not?"

Nether Demetri or Alistair said a word, knowing that was a rhetorical question.

Shaking his head again, Caius reached into the inside pocket of his jacket, pulling out two gold chains with the elite rank pendant hanging from them, holding out his arm to the guards. "Be lucky that I happened to see it first. Had Aro noticed you were without yours earlier, Demetri, he would have had your head."

Taking the necklaces and putting them on, both guards dipped their heads in thanks. Demetri looked back up at his master, "I had planned on taking mine back originally..."

Caius cut him off with a snort. "No, you didn't. You knew when you gave it to her that you were never going to take it back. You wanted her to have or you wouldn't have given it to her in the first place, no matter the reason you used to put a visible claim on the girl without biting her. You might have been able to get that one past Aro. Me, however, I know better. Dora here wore my necklace for three years as a human before I turned her so do not think to try and say you ever planned on getting that pendant back." Crossing his arms and smirking a little, "the ones you two are now wearing I actually had made for your ladies after the night I met them. You two are just too fucking impatient sometimes."

Nodding at him, both trackers turned in the direction of the bathrooms when they heard Destiny's voice a little louder than they should have. Demetri rubbed his forehead a little before running his fingers through his hair. With an indulgent smile and light chuckle, he stood, "excuse me. I need to keep my girl from starting another bar fight."

Eyes shooting up at him, Alistair's voice held an edge of astonishment. "She started the fight that caused the bar to close the first time we brought them here?"

Demetri snorted and cocked a brow as he walked backwards. "If that still in anyway surprises you, you haven't been paying attention." Walking across the room, the first twin he saw through the growing ring of onlookers was Arietta and she was just standing there, one arm crossed over her chest, her face in the palm of the other. Setting his hand on the shoulder of some random human, he jerked his head to the side to tell them to move, stepping into the ring to see what was going on, only to sigh a little when he saw his human standing over a guy who was curled up on the floor holding his junk.

Crossing his arms, he cleared his throat, catching everyone's attention. Looking first at the guy on the ground, he then turned to Destiny and cocked a brow at her. "Is there a problem here?"

Ignoring the whispers from the looky lous, Destiny turned to Demetri and shook her head, her face the picture of innocence. "Nope, we were just talking."

Face going flat, "uh huh." Turning to Arietta, "what happened?"

Not picking her face up out of her palm, Arietta enlightened him. "He grabbed her ass and she didn't like it." It was then she looked over at him, "and instead of letting it go and walking away, she kneed him in the nuts after calling him a few choice words... and before."

_Good girl_. Nodding a little, he turned back to his girl. "Dez, Tesoro, we really need to work on that temper of yours." Walking over to the fallen man, he held a hand out, giving him a little help up. Before he let go of his hand however, he jerked him close and whispered in his ear. "If you ever touch my girl again, I will personally remove that pencil dick of yours and shove it down your fucking throat. Do you understand?" When the guy whimpered a little, Demetri pulled away, let go of his hand and clapped him on the shoulder before slinging his arm over Destiny's and taking both her and her sister back over to the table.

Pulling the once again annoyed human into his lap, Demetri wrapped an arm around her waist, thinking for a moment on how to get her calmed back down again. She had spent quite a while pissed off at him earlier so he knew she could hold a grudge and the current grudge was gonna put a damper on the night if she didn't settle the fuck back down.

Sighing a little, he put his lips next to her ear and whispered. "Would you feel better if I kicked his ass?"

Destiny snorted a little, shaking her head and looking at him with a smile. "I would feel better if you would have let me."

Demetri cocked a brow at her, "after the last time you started chaos here, there is too much of a chance for serious issues if you did. Drop it for now and if we see him again later, I'll break his nose."

Smiling a little, she gave him a somewhat shy look for her. "Promise?" When Demetri nodded to her, she smiled for real. "Alright."

Winking at her, "that's my girl." Turning back to the table once Destiny settled into his lap, draping an arm around his neck and crossing her legs, Demetri looked to Caius and the expectant look on his face, "someone acted inappropriately. However, the situation was taken care of."

Caius snorted a little as Dora giggled out. "She hit someone again, didn't she?"

At that, Destiny growled a little. "I hope the fucker is still choking on his nuts."

Before anyone could say a word, the barmaid came to the table and sat down a bottle of whisky, a tray of shot glasses and a round of beer for the whole table, smiled and left. Picking up the bottle and opening it, Caius poured a round of shots for the table.

Picking up his glass, he looked at Destiny and then to Arietta. Raising his glass, he smiled at the girls. "Acclamazioni, Signora. Per lunga vita e felicità eterna."

Looking at him with smiles, both girls raised their glasses back at him. "evviva. Lunga vita al re."

After taking the shots, Caius smirked, "I see you two have been practicing your Italian. Very good."

Arietta smiled back at him. "Thanks. It was a fight, but I got Dez on board with it. Otherwise it would be blank stares and 'what the fuck' from her."

Destiny's head snapped to look at her sister, pride beaming off her face. "Awe, Ari, you said fuck. I am such a proud sister right now. If only you would keep it up."

Giggling a little into her bottle, Arietta gave her sister the finger, laughing out loud when Destiny pretended to cry in joy. After taking a drink, she cocked a brow at her sister. "You make it sound like I'm like this perfect little goodie two shoes or something. I don't behave all the time."

A clearly challenging look sparked in Destiny's eyes at that. "Really? How old were you the last time you got in trouble?"

Cocking a brow at her twin, "you mean when was the last time I got caught, right? Just because you like to be in your face doesn't mean there are not other ways to deal with things. Remember, my dear sister, revenge has always been a dish best served cold."

Putting a hand to her chest, Destiny gushed. "You are a sneaky little bitch, my dear twin." Then she smirked a little, "say 'fuck' again, please? I want that shit on tape."

*X*

Over the next few hours, the group of six proceeded to get hammered, turning the occasional shot into drinking games of 'I never' and "what's that', the twin's vindictive sides coming out as they called each other out on all kinds of things they knew for a fact would make the other drink, much to the amusement of those present.

They were however, clear on the unspoken rule to keep some things private.

By the time the bar closed that night, the twins were nearly unable to walk, both dependent on Demetri and Alistair's arms to keep them upright. Once they got outside, Caius asked if the guards thought they could get the girls back to the boarding house safely or if they wanted to ride along with him and Dora just to be safe. Taking him up on the offer, the girls were loaded into the back seat of the car that had come to pick up Caius and Dora, both of them passing out nearly as soon as the door was closed.

Once the car reached the boarding house, Demetri and Alistair carried the girls, Dora going with them to knock on the door since they didn't know which one of them had their key or even where it was.

Mrs. Mancini, blinking her eyes and rubbing them with her thumb and forefinger, flipped on the porch light and opened the door, her heart skipping a beat at the sight that met her eyes.

Dora, giving the clearly shocked old lady a smile. "Do please forgive the hour, Madam, but I believe these two young ladies are staying here." Moving to the side, showing the completely unconscious twins in the arms of the guards.

The first thing that went through Mrs. Mancini's mind was the girls were hurt, quickly moving to the side to give the guards room to enter her home. "Are they alright?"

Dora just giggled. "They are well, Madam. This is actually our fault. My husband went a little over board tonight in the amount of alcohol he allowed them to have."

Eyes growing wide, Mrs. Mancini turned to look at the twins. "They're drunk?"

Pressing her lips tightly together to smother a bark of laughter, Dora shook her head. "They were drunk hours ago. I believe this would be termed something closer to wasted. If you would be so kind as to show Demetri and Alistair to their rooms, we will leave you to your night."

Starting a little out of her shock that the girls had spent the night with one of the three kings, his wife, who was standing in her living room, and the same two guards that had been regular guests over the twin's stay, Mrs. Mancini nodded. "Of course. Follow me, please."

Leading the guys up the steps and down the hall, Mrs. Mancini opened the door to the twin's room, standing out of the way and telling the guards which twin went to which side of the room. Watching with extreme interest, she smiled slightly as Demetri and Alistair got them out of their jackets and shoes, in bed and covered, her eyes going to owlish size at the sight of the necklaces around the twin's necks.

Once the girls were put to bed, Mrs. Mancini lead the guys back down stairs and had her second mini heart attack of the night when she noticed Caius was now also in her house. Mouth opening and closing a few times, little noises being made but nothing that was actual words came out.

Caius just looked at the little old lady that he was slightly concerned was having a stroke. Brow creasing slightly, "Are you well, Nonna?"

Before she could form a response of any kind, Mr. Mancini came out of their room to see what was going on, also getting the shock of his life at the sight in his living room. Looking at his wife on the steps and the Volturi guards that were still behind her, his heart sank a little as he turned back to the king in his house. "Are the girls in some kind of trouble, My Lord?"

Caius merely shook his head. "Not at all, Nonno. We were bringing them home after our night out to make sure they made it safely to their beds." Glancing to his guards, "and they did, yes?" When he got a nod in return, he looked back to the head of the household, "so then we shall be on our way and allow you to return to yours." Presenting his arm to his mate, "a good evening to you."

Before walking out the door, Dora turned to look back at the old lady. "If you would please pass a message on to the girls for me. There will be a car here at two pm sharp to pick them up, take them to get their dresses and then to the palace to ready for the ball." Giggling a little, "do be sure they are not tardy, if you would be ever so kind, Nonna. I realize they might not be happy, but it is necessary for them to be at the palace by three thirty."

Finally breathing again, Mrs. Mancini nodded. "As you wish, My Lady. I cannot promise they will be fully functioning, however."

Dora giggled again as she waved a hand, "Just so long as they are capable of moving, I can work with anything else." Giving a shallow curtsy, "fairest dreams to you both, Nonno e Nonna."

Slipping past Mrs. Mancini, who was still in front of them on the steps, Demetri and Alistair bowed to the humans before giving a smile to the old lady and leaving, closing the door behind them.

Staying in place for a minute or two, Mr. Mancini looked at his wife. "Did I understand that right? The twins had a night out on the town with one of the kings?" At her nod, he crossed his arms, a little smile his face. "Well, how about that shit?"


	8. Chapter 8

"Come on, Ari, please? You know you are just as curious as I am."

Looking over at her sister as she was pinning her hair up in an exact replica of how Destiny's was, Arietta bit her lip. "I am, but what if they get it wrong? Then what?"

Pulling on her arm bands, Destiny shook her head. "I don't know. What I do know is I want to know if they can actually tell us apart when we have nothing different about us. If they really do know US, they'll know."

Picking up her quarter sized top hat and beginning to fasten it in place, Arietta looked at her sister, a very serious look on her face, "that's true. I mean, after spending all the time we have with them over the last month, they should be able to tell us apart no matter what, right?"

Destiny nodded quickly as she put in her earrings, "exactly. So, are you in?"

Thinking for a moment as she picked up the choker that Alistair bought her, Arietta nodded back, holding the jewelry out to her sister, "yeah. Let's see if they have actually been paying attention."

With a little squeal of triumph, Destiny grabbed the identical choker out of its case and moved to stand behind her sister, fastening her choker around Arietta's neck. "With the hair style, using that as a form of picking the right twin is out. If they really do know who is who, they'll know that this one is actually mine and the one I'm wearing is yours."

Once both twins were completely dressed, they turned to look in the mirror, little smirks on their lips. Destiny had toned down her makeup a little and Arietta beefed hers up so that there was no difference about them. From the little hat on their heads to the shoes on their feet, there was nothing, absolutely nothing to tell one from the other except for one tiny detail. The stones in their chokers were different colors. The one that was bought for Destiny had sapphire blue and the one that belonged to Arietta had honey amber. However, the amber stones hung from Destiny's neck and the sapphire from Arietta's.

Picking up their fans, quickly running through the instructions that Dora had given them upon entering the ballroom, Destiny and Arietta left the room they were givin to get ready and made their way downstairs.

*X*

Demetri and Alistair were standing with Felix, Afton, Alec and Corron when Felix happened to glance to the doors, reached up and rubbing his eyes a little and looking back with a blink.

"Alright, who the fuck spiked the punch already?" At the confused looks he was getting, he growled and pointed to the doors. "I'm fucking seeing double."

Turning to see what he was talking about, had Demetri and Alistair had beating hearts, they would have stopped at the sight of their twins.

They were visions in black and red. Their dresses were full length and touched the floor, the skirts a deep crimson red with black jewels in patterned designs in the sea of blood, parts of the skirt pulled and pinned up. The bodice was tight to their forms in a dark black with red beading over the whole thing, accenting their bust and tiny waists.

They didn't have on gloves but fingerless arm bands that were black with red bands with black decals across the backs of their hands, around their wrists with pearl stones in the center of that one and a third red and black band at the top of the bands just below their elbows. Each of them held a fan in their right hand that was solid black with black lace in the center where they held it, red lace running around the length half way up and across the top.

Their hair was pulled over to the left side of their heads, styled to fall over their shoulder. Atop their heads was a small black top hat with a crimson colored lace band around it, a black ribbon bow in the front with a red rose in the center and a black tulle veil falling from the back over their hair. In their ears were black dangling earrings.

Around their necks laid the chokers that they had bought the girls yesterday but what struck them was they were wearing the one that belonged to the other.

Elbowing Alistair in the ribs as the twins made their way to the dias, Demetri lowered his voice so only the vampire he wanted to hear him would. "I believe they are trying to test us."

Nodding to him, "whatever shall we do?"

A small smirk lifted Demetri's lips and he chuckled a little as he and Alistair made their way across the floor towards the dais. "Let's play a game."

*X*

Destiny and Arietta walked with their heads held high through the room, ignoring the stares they were getting. Before they made it to their first stop, they happened to see Demetri and Alistair also heading over to the dais where the three kings were standing, nodding to the different guests as they bowed and curtsied. Leaning over and lowering her voice, Destiny whispered. "Moment of truth."

Arietta just nodded, swallowing the urge to bite her lip and keep her face blank.

Reaching the dais, the twins curtsied low to the ground, nearly taking a knee before the kings since they were not actually their subjects, just as Dora instructed them, and bowed their heads.

Aro looked down at the absolutely stunning humans before him, his head cocked a little to the side as he tried to place them, even knowing he never had never seen them before.

Marcus had a slight smile on his face as he figured out who the ladies were by the ties they had to Demetri, Alistair and to his utter shock, Caius.

Caius just smirked a little as he watched Aro out of the corner of his eye, trying and failing on figuring out how these two little gems managed and invitation to the party. Lifting his eyes, he then saw Demetri and Alistair approaching and actually turned away slightly so as to not show the amusement on his face. This is the moment he had been waiting a month for and he truly hoped it lived up to his fantasies. He had not put the amount of effort into keeping the twins a well kept secret for this long for him to come out disappointed.

Once it was overly apparent that he had never seen these girls before, Aro then smiled at them and motioned for them to rise. Once they were back on their feet, "Chio, Ladies, and welcome. Might I have the pleasure of your names?"

Before they could say anything, Demetri and Alistair stepped up next to them, Demetri on the outside of Arietta and Alistair on the outside of Destiny. Both guards bowing low, Demetri then looked up to his master, holding a hand to Arietta, "this is Destiny Vincent."

Then Alistair held a hand to Destiny, "and this is Arietta Vincent."

The girls glanced at each other but said nothing, keeping their emotions and expressions in check.

With his hands clasped behind his back, Aro readied to remove one of his gloves as he looked at his trackers. "You know them, Gentlemen?"

As they nodded at him, Caius reached over and gripped Aro's wrist, squeezing it to the point that it actually hurt. Lowering his voice so no one else could hear him, Caius hissed. "Keep your fucking gloves on, Aro. I can personally vouch for the twins that they know absolutely nothing. They are not your subjects therefore you have no right to intrude on their lives. If you so much as think to try that shit again, I will remove your hands for the next century."

Glancing at the youngest ruler out of the corner of a narrowed eye, Aro growled slightly but turned back to the human ladies and his two trackers, his face once again returning to the smile that was there a moment ago. Tightening his hands into fists while fighting the urge to backhand his brother, he focused on the humans. "Enchanted to meet you, Ladies. I do so hope you enjoy yourselves this evening."

Dipping down into a shallow curtsy again, the girls turned and took the arm presented to them, allowing the wrong guard to lead them away from the dais and out into the crowd, straight onto the dance floor.

Once the humans were a distance away, Aro turned to his brothers. "This is what you have keeping from me? Humans?"

Marcus shook his head a little as he sat down but Caius snorted and rolled his eyes, holding his arm out to his mate to take. Looking at Aro, "you're an idiot." Pausing at the bottom of the steps, he then looked back over his shoulder and looked right in Aro's eyes, "and I meant what I said. Keep your gloves on. The twin's lives are not for you to intrude on and neither is the private lives of the guards."

Reaching the dance floor, Alistair twirled Destiny in a circle before releasing her hand, both of them doing a slight bow to the other before taking up their dancing position. When they started dancing, Alistair smirked at the twin that was actually doing a very good job not giving away the fact she wasn't who she thought he thought she was. Her smile was present and coy, her eyes looking at him and not over at her sister who was dancing with who she wanted to be. Destiny was actually a very good actress. But he saw the emotions in her eyes as they stayed locked on his as he lead her around the floor.

She was pissed.

Listening to Demetri for a moment, trying to figure out if he was going to tell Arietta or not, he decided to just let the cat out of the bag now and save both himself and Demetri the wrath that was for sure to be in their future over this.

Pulling her to him after a spinout, he dipped his head and whispered in her ear. "While it looks lovely, I did actually intend for Arietta to wear that necklace, Dez."

Snapping back and looking up at him with slightly wide eyes, Destiny stuttered a moment before blinking, "you knew?"

Alistair snorted, turning her in a spin, "of course we knew. Did you honestly think to fool us?"

Smirking and falling into the dip, Destiny snickered. "Fool, test, whatever." After being lifted back to her feet, "how did you know?"

At the presented question, Alistair actually looked away slightly, for once overcome with happiness he was no longer able to blush. Clearing his throat lightly, he lowered his voice, "If I tell you the answer to that, you must promise to keep it to yourself."

At that, Destiny got a sly little smirk on her face, but nodded just the same. "I give you my word."

Sighing a little as he twirled her again, Alistair then pulled her close to him and once again whispered in her ear. "I know the difference between the lady I love and the one I don't."

Pulling back with a wide smile on her face, Destiny stage whispered. "What? Seriously?" Then she gave him a little glare, "and what do you mean you don't love me? I'm fucking awesome." When Alistair chuckled a little, Destiny just smiled at him. "Well, while the answer is a good, sound one, it really doesn't make up for the fact that you pulled this little stunt. Really? Fucked up, man."

At that, Alistair laughed out right, forever thankful that this twin knew how to get rid of any awkwardness anywhere near her.

As the song ended and they bowed to each other again, Destiny took his arm and gave him a grin, "and don't worry, your secret is safe with me. This is something that my dear twin will just need to figure out on her own."

What Destiny didn't know was that her dear twin and Demetri just had a very similar conversation.

Once the four of them rejoined and the girls put on the correct choker, Destiny smacked Demetri with her fan. "Ass... hole. That shit was mean."

Chucking slightly as he presented her his arm, Demetri cocked a brow at her. "I do believe you were the one that started it."

Glaring up at him a little, Destiny huffed as she took his arm. "So not the point. We had a reason for doing what we did. You two were just being assholes."

Giving his girl the most indulgent smile ever seen, Demetri nodded. "Apologies, Tesoro." When she just sighed a little and shook her head, Demetri lead her over to the other elite guards that were looking at them with completely unmasked surprise. Laying his hand on hers, he smiled at her before beginning the introductions. "Destiny, Arietta, these are the other elites. This huge bastard here is Felix." Felix bowed his head low.

"Next we have Afton and his wife Chelsea." Afton bowed low at the waist, one hand on his stomach and the other arm out to the side while Chelsea curtsied a bit.

"And then we have the twins, Alec and his sister, Jane." The twins bowed and curtsied much the same as Afton and Chelsea.

Then Demetri smiled down at his human, "Everyone, this is Destiny, or as she prefers, Dez." Then he held a hand one to indicate the other twin, "and this is Arietta."

Destiny and Arietta smiled as they both dropped into a quick curtsy.

After that was over, Felix smirked wide. "So, this is what has kept you two busy all month, is it? If you want the truth, I had thought you guys had gotten close on your last mission you were spending so much time together."

Demetri glared a little but couldn't say anything before Destiny snorted a little before giggling, "I thought that too when we first met. Dem had introduced them as partners and where me and Ari are from, that means something completely different than what he did."

Grinning wide at her, Felix snickered a little, "really now. Well," Looking at Demetri, "Dem here never really thinks before he talks."

Demetri gave him the finger.

Jane and Alec glanced at each other a moment before looking at the identical twins across from them, Alec crossing his arms, "So, who's older?"

Destiny and Arietta looked at each other for a second before Arietta answered him. "Dez by five minutes. Why?"

Jane giggled a little and looked at Destiny, "you're the bitch of the pair, aren't you?"

Blinking a little, Destiny's lip curled in the corner as Arietta barked out a laugh and nodded, "absolutely. How did you guess?"

Alec smirked, "personal experience. Jane got me by ten minutes and miles in the anger issue department."

At that, Jane glared at her brother, "I do not have anger issues. Everyone else just has stupidity issues."

Pulling her arm from Demetri's, Destiny threw her hands up. "Exactly. Finally, someone fucking gets it." Pointing a finger towards her sister, "I have been trying to explain that her for years. It's not me, it's everyone else."

Looking back at her twin, Arietta cocked a brow, "then why are you the only one that gets pissed off?"

Alec snorted a little, "good luck getting an answer to that. I've been trying for what seems like centuries to get one."

Both Destiny and Jane just glared at their respective twin before looking at each other, asking at the same time, "drink?"

Both nodding to the idea, Destiny and Jane walked away from the group, much to the extreme shock of the guard, and headed for the bar.

Arietta watched after her sister for a moment, biting the inside of her cheek before sighing a little. "Well, there goes her best behavior."

Alec gave her a sympathetic look, "Don't worry, Jane's too." Then he cocked his head to the side, "If you want, I can try some of the things I did with Jane and her anger issues."

Arietta snorted hard at that. "Good luck. I won't stop you, but I won't guarantee your safety either."

Alec smirked, "If I can handle Jane, I can handle anyone."

Arietta just snorted a little again but didn't comment, instead turning her attention to Alistair when he called for it.

"Would you care to dance?"

Giving him a smile and a little nod, they excused themselves from the group and Alistair led her out onto the dance floor.

The music turned into a slow dance and Alistair took the opportunity to pull Arietta close to him, his hands on her hips while hers rested on his chest.

Looking down at her he couldn't help but smile, "have I told you that you look stunning?"

Arietta smiled, looking up at the man she has come to realise that she was starting to fall for. "hmm, not recently you haven't, but thank you" she smiles up at him, a chuckle escaping his lips.

Spinning Arietta out and back into his arms, he rested his forehead on hers and pulled her closer. They both closed their eyes they swayed to the music, twirling across the dance floor.

Ariette let out a giggle as Alistair twirls them both, laughing, enjoying the moment. There was a bubble around them both, that only consisted of them. Never once did they let their bodies separate from their flushed forms, enjoying the moment and what it unknowingly meant. Both unknown for their feelings of one another, yet feeling the emotions in the dance.

As the music slows and starts to come to an end, so does Alistair and Arietta, foreheads once again resting together, noses touching. The words Alistair spoke to Dez not long before froze on his tongue, as her lips softly pressed to his. Warmth, like the first time, almost burning his lips in pleasure.

Lost in their own little world, Alistair and Arietta both missed the catcalls from the elites as well as a very dark, very pissed off set of eyes watched their every move.

Destiny caught it though. Looking across the room a moment, she then turned back to the bar and picked up her glass, glancing at Jane when she asked if she was going to do anything about it. Destiny shook her head, "nope. Ari is a big girl and perfectly capable of taking care of herself. I'll step in if there is no other choice, but for now, me and my anger issues are just gonna chill right here at the bar."

Jane snorted a little and ordered another round. There was no doubt in her mind that she was going to really like this human.

*X*

Back across the room, Alexis, one of the lowest ranking members of the guard, stood with a few of the other girls from her station, glaring daggers at the little slut of a human all over HER Alistair. It was completely beside the point that he never paid her any mind, it would have only been a matter of time before he finally saw her for the vampire perfection she was and came to his senses... if not for the human hussy.

Growling low in her throat, "I think I found my next meal."

One of the other girls she was with rolled her eyes at her. "Lex, please. You have been all but dry humping Alistair's leg for the last seven hundred years. If he hasn't showed interest by now, he's not going to."

Turning her black eyes on her so called friend, Alexis huffed. "I almost have him worn down."

The other girl snorted at that and crossed her arms. "Yeah, about as worn down as Heidi has Demetri. Get over the stupid fucking crush and move on. Looks to me like he chose his mate and from where I'm standing, it ain't you."

Turning back to the human that Alistair was now leading off the dance floor, a smirk came to Alexis' lips. "Then I'll just have to get rid of the competition."

Running a hand down her face with a sigh, the other guard shook her head. "Then I'll see ya in hell 'cause he is going to kill you." With that, she simply turned and walked away, not even slightly worried over the safety of that human.

Glaring after her, Alexis then turned to the other girls. "You'll help me, right?"

Both the remaining lower level guards shook their heads, one of them pointing out something she felt was an important thing to remember here. "And have the entire elite guard after us, including the two best trackers in existence? Hell no, there would be no hiding from them or the repercussions of trying to hurt the chosen mate of one of their own. Sorry, Lex, but you're on your own."

Growling a little as they too walked away, She turned back to the human on HER Alistair's arm. Scoffing a little, "fine, I don't need help anyways. After all, how hard could it possibly be to kill one little human bitch?"


	9. Chapter 9

**So, yeah; I suck. I forgot to mention during my postfest last night that Little Miss WhiteWolfLegend had a hand in the last chapter. The part with Arietta and Alistair dancing, that was her. I took back over with Alexis. Though, as I said, you could see the writing style changes.**

**This chapter is all me, however, so enjoy it. **

**On with it**

***X***

Destiny and Jane were still at the bar working their way through a bottle of jager when Demetri and Alec came over to join them, laughing their asses off over stories about their anger issues. When the guys reached the bar, Destiny was telling Jane about the bar fight she was in earlier that month, bringing an amused smile to Demetri's lips as he remembered it as well.

Taking another shot, Destiny giggled a little as she swallowed. "So, then this stupid little bitch thought that I was playing when I said hands off the goods and actually thought to tell me to go fuck myself." Pointing at Jane, "no one tells me to go fuck myself and keeps all their teeth, a little lesson the skank apparently needed to learn the hard way since she said it. Now," clearing her throat a little, "I had had a little to drink already so," bringing her hand up and forming a fist, "I pulled back and blasted the bitch in the mouth, something that was a good idea when I did it, only to be slightly regretted when I found out she was not alone in the bar."

Pausing a moment and smirking a little, Destiny snorted hard. "For those that have no idea, Dora... that lady has a nasty right hook, something that I never wanna feel. So, the girl that told me to go fuck myself is crying and bleeding on the floor, the chick Dora clocked right next to her and then there were two... big bitches. Dora and I, ever the fearless duo, stood nose to chin because we're short and they were not. Right before there was an actual fist thrown, well another one thrown, the bartender came over and asked if there was a problem, all pissy like only to look ready to piss himself when he saw that he got pissy with Lady Athenodora. So, instead of getting in trouble, the bartender just closed the bar, apologised to us for the disruption to our night and called for medical help for the two girls on the ground. It was that moment that Dora became one of my heros because I was relatively sure I was gonna get arrested again."

At that last sentence, Alec cocked a brow. "Again?"

Destiny nodded but before she could say anything, Arietta and Alistair came over, Arietta asking for her sister's company. No longer even a little irritated with her twin, Destiny nodded at her. "Sure. But can we talk on the way to the bathroom?"

Giggling a little, Arietta nodded. "Yeah; Come on. I think there is one right down the hall," looking up at Alistair, "right?" At his nod, Destiny got up, linked arms with her sister and headed out into the hall. Once there, Destiny cocked a brow and waited to find out what Arietta wanted to talk about. Looking away from her sister for a moment, she then locked eyes with Destiny, "I think I love him."

Well, you ain't the only one there, Sissy. Smiling at her sister but keeping her thoughts to herself, Destiny leaned into Ari for a second, "really? I think that's great. Alistair is certainly your dream guy, huh?"

Giggling a little, Arietta nodded but was cut off from saying anything by a loud, pissed off voice behind them. Both turning at the 'HEY', Destiny saw the little bitch from before that actually had the balls to give her sister a dirty look.

Humming a little in her throat, Destiny cocked a brow. "The fuck you want?"

Alexis looked back and forth between the twins, not having any idea which one she actually wanted. However, calling it a draw, she just pointed between them. "You, I want to talk to you."

Way to be a hotshot, dumbass. However, knowing it was Arietta that was actually wanted, Destiny looked at her sister, and lowered her voice a little. "I really have to pee. You got this?"

Lip curling a little at that, Arietta whispered back. "How do you know YOU didn't piss her off?"

Cocking a brow at her, "would it matter? She doesn't fucking know who's who. Besides, I saw her glaring at you when you were dancing. Pretty safe to say, she ain't mad at me." Getting close to her ear, "I think she wants your man."

Jaw dropping a little, Arietta turned and glared at the little whore. "Oh, HELL no."

Letting go of her arm and taking a step away, Destiny clasped her hands behind her back. "Call if ya need me." And then left to go pee and let her sister defend her claim and newly discovered love, Alistair. Glancing over her shoulder, Destiny smirked a little, 'kick her little ass and make me proud, my dear twin.'

Arietta looked at the chick down the hall from her, crossing her arms, jetting out a hip and cocking a brow. "What do you want?"

Hands fited at her sides, Alexis galred at the human. "Alistair is mine so you had better back the fuck up off my man."

Smirking a smirk to make her sister proud, Arietta snorted a little. "Really? If that's the case, why is he dancing with me? Why is he spending his night with me? Or better question, if he is your man, why had his tongue been down my throat over a dozen times in the recent past? Such a naughty little boy, ain't he? Someone should punish him."

Growling low in her throat, Alexis sneered. "Stay away from him or you will regret it."

Snorting, Arietta just smiled at her. "What are you gonna do, bite my ankles? I thought I was short but bitch, I will step on you." Then she giggled a little, "did you know that he tastes like chocolate covered strawberries? Sweet and decadent, a flavor that you can never get enough of." Biting her lip and moaning a little, looking up through her lashes, "my favorite."

Snarling in a spitting rage, Alexis bellowed. "I'll fucking kill you."

Before she got two steps, there was a booming voice behind her, stopping her in her tracks. "What is going on here?"

Arietta winked at Alexis before the vampire turned to look over her shoulder, eyes about popping out at the sight of Alistair standing there, arms crossed and actually glaring at HER. Stammering a little, searching for something to say, Alexis just continued to stare at him.

Alistair glared at the female vampire for a moment before turning his attention to his human. Eyes and voice softening, "Arietta, are you alight, Tesoro?"

Arietta nodded a little, "peachy, thanks."

Smiling at hearing that, "did you not leave the ball in the company of your sister?"

Shrugging, "she's still in the bathroom."

"Am not." Destiny came around the corner and came to stand next to her sister, "you good?"

Smirking a little, "how long?"

Humming in her throat a little, Destiny giggled. "Chocolate covered strawberries, huh?"

Snorting a little, Alistair looked at the twins. "Why do you two not return to the party? This is something that I need to deal with." When the girls nodded and headed inside, Alistair grabbed Arietta's wrist to stop her, and dipped his head, "I'll only be a moment, Tesoro." Pressing his lips to hers softly for a moment, he released her and, once both humans were safely back inside the ballroom, Alistair returned his attention to the very soon to be dead vampire. "Now, to finally deal with you."

*X*

Back inside the ballroom, Destiny slipped up next to Demetri, elbowing him lightly in the side. "Psst, you bring the stuff?"

Snorting lightly at her, Demetri reached into his suit jacket and pulled out her pack of cigarettes and lighter, handing them over when she squealed in delight at the sight. Setting a hand on her back and holding a hand out to indicate they needed to go out on the balcony, he smiled at her. "Those things will kill you, you know?"

Grinning at him, Destiny pulled one out of the pack and handed it back. "Haven't yet. I'll deal with that later if I have to, but really, if I'm dead, am I really gonna care how it happened?"

Humming a little as he leaned on his elbow next to her as she lit her cigarette, he finally just shrugged, "probably not." Taking her lighter when she held it out to him and putting it back in his jacket pocket, he cocked his head a little, "are you having fun, Stella?"

Taking a hit and holding her breath a moment, she breathed the smoke out of her nose as she nodded. "Yeah, actually." Then she grinned up at him, "I am actually the technical good twin tonight, if you can believe it. I might be drunk but it was Ari that almost got in a fight, not me. How 'bout that for some shit?"

Cocking a brow at her, "oh?"

Taking another hit and pulling herself to sit on the railing, Destiny nodded. "Some little bitch getting in her face about Alistair and him being hers." Then she snorted, "god, I wish I was there for the whole thing but that damn bladder of mine wasn't feelin' it. What I caught though, I am so proud of her." Pausing to hit her cigarette, "Alistair though, now he was a scary fucker when he came out." Looking over at him, "I think they go good together. Such a fucking shame Ari and I are leaving in two days. Doesn't seem right going back home anymore."

Moving to stand in front of her, Demetri put a hand on either side of her hips, bending down and looking her in the eyes. "Then why go? It would seem to me that if it doesn't feel right, you shouldn't do it."

Smiling a little and shrugging a shoulder, "why stay?" Sighing a little, "school. I still have two years left before I get my degree and as much as I love it here and would love to just say fick it and not go back, I have worked too hard to get where I am to give up on it now. I am busting my ass to turn a six year degree in biochemistry into a four year degree and I'm on the right track at the moment." Shaking her head a little, "and for once, I don't want to screw everything up by giving into temptation. I could transfer to the university in Florence at the end of the next semester, but Ari can't because they don't offer her major and I'm not leave my sister."

Finishing her cigarette, putting it out and tossing the butt into the tray everyone was using, Destiny looked back at Demetri. "You think maybe you'll be able to come and visit? Our apartment certainly isn't anything as grand as I'm sure you're used to and the weather in Boston leaves something to be desired, but it could be fun."

Pressing his lips together and humming a little, Demetri set his forehead to hers. "I don't know, Agapi Mou. We never know when or where we are needed and we must go if called upon. With my position within the guard and because of my expertise, I am normally one of, if not, the first to go." When he saw her eyes dim a little, he butted his nose to hers. "I will not make you a promise I cannot keep, Tesoro. I will promise to try, but that's all I will do. I refuse to be a reason you are upset over broken promises."

Dropping her eyes a little, Destiny played with her tongue ring for a moment, running the ball over her lip before looking up at him through her lashes. "I can call you though, right?"

Chuckling slightly at the very first sign of Destiny having an unsure bone in her body, Demetri nodded. Silly girl, of course you can. Any time, day or night."

Relaxing at that, Destiny set her hands on Demetri's chest and closed her eyes with a sigh, "I don't want to home. I don't want to miss you."

_No worries there, My Love. You're not going anywhere._ Nuzzling his nose lightly to hers again, "everything will work out exactly as it is meant to, Agapi Mou. For now, you're still here so let's leave that for your departure."

Crooking a finger under her chin, Demetri tilted Destiny's back a little and pressed his lips softly to hers. He had gotten used to the added taste of smoke on her lips so it was now just part of her to him. He had been a smoker in his human days, the flavor resurfacing the few lasting human memories he had. Chances were, had they done anything for him like they used to, he would probably still be one.

Destiny melted into Demetri's chest a little, closing her hands on the lapels of his jacket, pulling him just a little closer.

It wasn't a hot and heavy kiss like every other one they shared. It was soft and sweet, an unspoken promise that it wouldn't be the last one.

A lightly cleared throat behind them brought the moment to an end, but not the connection it created. Pulling back a little, Demetri then pecked the tip of Destiny's nose before gently picking her up by the hips and setting her on her feet and turning to the side, his arm around her waist, bowing his head at Marcus as he stood there with a little smile on his face. "Master Marcus."

Marcus nodded back to the tracker before looking at the human who had a starry eyed look on her face but a welcoming smile on her lips. Walking out onto the balcony, he held out on hand to her. "So, you are the real Destiny, yes?"

Eyes sparking a little as she first glanced up at Demetri, Destiny then looked back with a nod, stepping forward and setting one hand in his while she grabbed the skirt of her dress and held it out, dipping slightly into a light curtsy, "I am, Lord Marcus. But should you feel inclined, you can just call me Dez. Everyone else does but my parents when I get in trouble."

Nodding at her, Marcus brought her hand to his lips and pressed them to her knuckles. "Charmed, young lady. Caius has spoken very highly of you and your sister, something that he is not well known for. I simply had to meet the young lady that seems to have both my youngest brother and his wife so enthralled."

Grinning as she clasped her hands behind her back when he let her go, Destiny giggled a little. "Well, we're even on that. Caius and Dora are pretty fucking wicked at the bar themselves."

Demetri crossed his arms and looked up at the star filled sky with a sigh. Destiny would have to be just about the only person who would say such a thing about one of his masters to another one. Looking back at his girl with a fond smile, he just shook his head a little.

Marcus just chuckled slightly having been told of the human's lack of care and cooth when speaking. It was actually, according to both Caius and Dora, one of her more redeeming qualities. Smiling at her, "I have heard many stories over the last few years that will complement that statement. Were I a few years younger, I would have loved to have joined you in your outings. But alas, I fear that I am just a little old for such things."

Jaw dropping with a scoff, Destiny shook her head. "Nonsense. Those words do not belong strung together in the same sentence. Put like that, it is a complete does not compute." Grabbing a handful of skirt and lifting it up so she didn't step on it, she moved with purpose, linking her arm through his and gave it a little tug. "Come on."

Marcus looked at Demetri for a moment but still allowed the young lady to pull him along with her. Looking down at her, he cocked a brow at the set look of determination on her face. "What is in that head of yours, Damigella?"

Smiling up at him as they reached the bar, "we're doing a shot. Now, pick your poison."

Marcus shook his head a little, "Dez..."

Waving a hand to cut him off, much to the shock of others present, she shocked them more when she locked her eyes on his and spoke, "hush up, you. No one is too old to get fucked up. Now, pick your poison before I pick for you."

"You should do as the lady says, Brother, or else you are in for some rather interesting concoctions."

Marcus turned to Caius with a raised brow while Destiny turned with a grin. "But you like my rather interesting concoctions, Caius, and you know it."

Ignoring the gasps from the crowd that the lack of honorary to his station, Caius nodded at her. "Some of them were rather good, Tesoro, I cannot lie." Then he hummed a little, "I believe we have the makings of what you called a firecracker. Why not a round of one of those for us. It was Dora's favorite after all and for my life I cannot remember how you said it was put together."

When Destiny giggled a little and turned to the bar to explain the shot to the bartender, Caius looked at Marcus and smirked a little and lowered his voice out of the human range of hearing. "Did I not tell you she was a force?"

Cringing as he heard the makings of what was being made, Marcus nodded, "you certainly did."

Dora, who was on Caius' arm giggled a little, "do not worry so, Marcus. You will come to adore the twins just as much as everyone else in no time." Looking at Destiny a moment, "this one, if I didn't know for positive wasn't, I would say was related to Caius. They both have the very same attitude towards rules and authority."

Caius snorted a little, speaking loud enough to be heard again. "They were both made to be broken and ignored, My Love. Life is far too boring with no discord in it."

Destiny turned back to them with a pint glass in one hand and shot glass in the other, a wide grin on her face. "I'll drink to that anyday." Facing Marcus, she held out the glasses in her hands, "here. Now, to do this, you have to expect two things. One, you're gonna get hit in the nose with the shot glass and two, you're gonna dribble a little so lean forward slightly." Once she shoved the two glasses in Marcus' hands, she turned back and, after handing out the others to Caius and Dora, picked up hers and smiled at the confused vampire king. "Now on the count of three, drop the little glass into the big one and take it to the face." Holding up the shot glass, "Un brindisi alla vita, l'amore, la felicità e il legame che ci obbligazionari." Smiling a little, "uno, due, tre"

Dropping the shot glass into the pint, Destiny grabbed her skirt and pulled it out of the way and leaned forward as she brought the glass to her lips and drank the rather large shot, the vampires following suit.

Once the shots were done, Destiny took Marcus' glass with a smile as she set both his and hers on the bartop. "See, never too old to have fun." Looking off to the side when she heard her name, she looked back at the three royals with a smile, "excuse me." With a quick bend of her knees, she swept away from the bar and over to where her sister was standing with the Elite guards.

Marcus, Caius and Dora watched after her until she reached her twin. Marcus hummed a little as he watched Destiny take her sister's hand and spin her around in a twirl, his gift sparking to life as all the different bonds to the guard began to show themselves. "I see what you have been talking about, Brother. Those two are certain to liven things up around here."

***X***

**Won't they though? I feel a shift, a change coming on. Will the vampires be ready for what the twins will bring down on their heads? **

**English translation to Destiny's toast: A toast to life, love, happiness, and the ties that bond us.**

**Speklez**


	10. Chapter 10

**This is really just to tide you over while I get the update to Time Heals done, which I am working on, I promise. I should have it done and posted later tonight.**

**Other than that, I have nothing to report. **

**On with it**

***X***

"What are we going to do, Dez?"

Looking over at her sister, who was leaning on both elbows on the railing next to her with her face in her hands, Destiny shrugged a little as she took a hit off her cigarette. Rubbing her forehead a few times before running her hand down her face, she sighed a little, "fuck if I know. Make a graceful bow out with a bullshit lie?"

Looking out over the torch-lit rose garden below them, both twins were thinking along the same lines. They knew what would happen if they stayed much longer and they both also knew that, though they would never regret it, they couldn't do it and leave in two days.

Arietta grunted a little, crossing her arms on the railing, "this sucks."

Destiny just snorted at that, "you'll get no argument from me about that, Ari." Scowling slightly, "why did they have to be so fucking perfect? Seriously, this would be so much easier if they were normal men and fucked up all the damn time."

Sighing a little and lifting herself to stand, Ari turned to her twin, "so, what's the bullshit bow out?"

Putting out her cigarette and linking arms with her sister, Destiny pulled her along, "I got it covered. Just play along."

When the twins got back to the group they had been hanging out with all night, Destiny gave them a smile, "well, guys it has been a blast, but it's late and if we're going to go out with you guys tomorrow night before we leave, we have to get packed and stuff so we're gonna head out."

Demetri and Alistair looked at them for a moment, knowing there was something up but not knowing exactly what is was. It was Felix though that responded, "awe, you're not staying for the after party?"

Arietta shook her head, "we can't. We have too much to do to get ready to go home otherwise we would."

Pouting a little, Felix sighed a little, "too bad. It would have been a lot of fun with you guys there." Stepping forward, he took Destiny's hand and lifted to his lips, "it's been a pleasure this evening, Dez."

Destiny, cocked a brow at him, "I'm not Destiny."

Arietta crossed her arms and glared at him, "I'm Destiny ya dumbfuck."

Demetri and Alistair cleared their throats a little to keep the laughter at bay while everyone else was looking at Felix with little looks of shock as he stared at the real Arietta with wide eyes, "I... um, I'm sorry, but seriously, how the hell does anyone tell you apart?"

Arietta cocked a brow at him, "by not being an idiot. You know, the last person that confused my sister for me happened to be my boyfriend at the time. Do you wanna know what I did to him when I found out?"

Pulling a little face, Felix shook his head, "not really."

At that, both twins snorted and took on matching amused faces, speaking at the same time, "no one does."

Felix blinked a took a step back from them, "fucking creepy twin shit. I thought Jane and Alec were bad but Jesus, it's so much worse when you look exactly the same doing it."

Smirking a little, Demetri went over to Arietta and wrapped her arm through his, playing along, Alistair doing the same with Destiny. "We'll see you two back to the boarding house since it is so late."

Arietta's eyes snapped to her sister's in a slight panic. The whole point of this was to avoid being alone with them.

Giving Arietta a look to just relax, Destiny smiled up at them, "no, really, it's alright. You guys stay and enjoy the rest of your nights. We'll see you tomorrow at the bar."

Alistair looked at Destiny, "are you sure?"

Nodding and keeping her smile in place, "yes, absolutely. We'll be fine and we'll call you when we get back to let you know that." Pulling her arm free and then linking her arm back through her sisters, "have a good night everyone."

As the twins walked over to say goodnight to Caius and Dora, Afton snorted and little as he crossed his arms, "and you thought that was Dez."

After the girls said their goodbyes and changed out of their dresses and back into basically their PJs, Destiny and Arietta walked through the halls and out the main entrance where Caius informed them a car would be waiting to drive them home. After storing their things in the trunk and getting in the backseat, Arietta laid her head on Destiny's shoulder with a sigh, "this still really bites."

Setting her head on top of her sister's Destiny nodded, "harder than steel plated solid gold teeth in the jaws of a tiger."

*X*

The drive was short back to the boarding house. After gathering their things, the girls thanked the driver, went inside and straight up to their rooms. After hanging their dresses up, both girls plopped down on Destiny's bed and laid back with sighs.

Destiny pinched the bridge of her nose a little before rubbing her eyes, turning her head to the nightstand when she heard her phone beep telling her she had a voicemail. Rolling over and grabbing it, she flipped her phone open and scrolled the missed calls, brow creasing a little at the Italy Country Code. Deciding to check that after she called Demetri, she scrolled the numbers and found his and hit send. Wrinkling her nose a little when voicemail picked up, she let him know they were safe and getting ready for bed and that she couldn't wait to see him the next day.

Once that was taken care of, she called her own voicemail, shooting straight up in bed at what she was hearing, absolute horror coloring her face as the message continued. Jumping out of bed, "oh fuck."

Arietta sat up on the bed, looking at her sister in complete confusion, "what's the matter?"

Whipping around to her twin, Destiny looked less than pleased. "Our flight was overbooked so they changed our departure date to tomorrow..." looking at the clock on her phone, "today. The one they put us on was the only other one to the states until Sunday so if we are not on the plane, we'll miss the first few days of classes."

Jaw dropping a little, Arietta's eyes went wide, "are you serious?"

Glaring at her phone like it was to blame, Destiny growled a little, "that's not even the worst part." Looking back at Arietta, "take off is in five hours."

Blinking once, Arietta jumped off the bed, "oh shit. Dez, what are we going to do?"

Scrubbing her face hard with her hands, Destiny shook her head, "be on that fucking plane. I'll call the car service and get us a cab. You run downstairs and let Mr. and Mrs. Mancini know we're checking out early and if they say anything about giving us any money back for the early checkout, tell them to keep it as a tip for being so fucking awesome. We'll just throw shit in bags and sort it out at home."

Nodding and darting from the room, Arietta went downstairs as Destiny dug around in her bag for that card the cabby gave her when they were dropped off. With an 'ah ha' she grabbed the elusive little bastard and made her call, wincing when they said they would be there in a half hour.

By the time Arietta was back from her task, Destiny was flying around the room, ripping clothes off hangers and out of drawers, just throwing them in the general direction of the beds, glancing over her shoulder to tell Arietta to just shove shit where she could, they didn't have the time to piss around.

It took them twenty-five minutes to get everything packed up and it was when Destiny opened the nightstand drawer that she finally paused. Reaching in and grabbing the necklaces cases that were safely tucked away, she scratched the back of her head before opening the black one, pulling out the Volturi necklace that was inside.

"Arietta."

Looking over at her sister, she caught the red velvet case that was tossed to her and also paused to open it, biting her lip a little as she pulled hers out as well. Running her thumb over the details and ruby, she choked a little as she swallowed hard. "Should we leave these with Mr. and Mrs. Mancini to give back to them?"

Biting her thumb nail for a second, Destiny finally shook her head. "No." Looking over her shoulder with a sad little smile, "let's take them." Then she smirked, "if they really want them back, they'll just have to come get them. Now, wouldn't that just be a damn shame?"

Looking at her sister for a second, Arietta shrugged as she undid the clasp. "Works for me."

After they both put on their necklaces and tucked them under their shirts, they began to carry their bags down, just in time for there to be a knock on the door signaling the end of their Italian vacation.

*X*

Getting out of the shower to removed the massive number of conflicting scents on his skin, Demetri toss the towel in his hands on to the chair in his room and picked up his phone from the charging station. Running his fingers through his hair, he flipped it open and saw he had two missed calls from Destiny. Growling slightly at his phone dying before she called the first time, he called his voicemail and dropped onto his bed. The first one was no big deal, just her letting him know that she had made it safely back to the boarding house. The second one, however, had him shooting out of bed and out of his room, barely stopping long enough to grab his hooded jacket as he tore through the halls, nearly plowing down Felix on his way to the stairs that led to the highest point of the castle, jumping up onto the railing of the balcony before leaping onto the roof.

"_Hey Dem, it's me again. Look, I'm really sorry about this but the stupid fucking airline overbooked our fight on Tuesday so they bumped up our flight to this morning. Ari and I are on our way to the airport now since the plane takes off in like four hours. You're probably in bed and won't get this before we take off, but I just wanted you to know that I will miss you and that I had more fun in the last month than I have in my entire life. Um, if you want, call or text me when you get up. Hope to hear from you soon... or soonish... whatever. Um, well, that's it. Later Dem._"

Only just able to stop from crushing the phone in his hand, he checked the time versus when the message was left, growling even harder when he saw the message was six hours old and his human was already in the air. Looking to the west, he focused on the tenor of her mind, finding out exactly where she was, and narrowed his eyes a little when he found out he was right.

She was gone.

Pursing his lips, he cocked his head a little, forming his plans silently in his mind because the souls in Hell would play in the snow before he allowed his mate to remain that far away from him.

Moving his eyes to the side, he cocked a brow at Alistair when he appeared next to him.

Alistair looked over where Demetri was just looking, knowing that he already knew where they were. "So, I take it you got a message as well."

Turning back to the west, Demetri pulled his hood over his head as the sun finally reached where he was standing and crossed his arms. After a moment, he cocked his head again. "I believe it is time for a long overdue vacation."

As Demetri was walking back to the edge of the roof, Alistair called out to him. "Aro is not going to like that."

A dark smirk pulled at Demetri's lips as he dropped back down to the balcony. "I would love to see him try and stop me when I have no plans on asking."

After a quick stop in his room for his wallet and go-bag, he grabbed his phone charger and tossed it in as well and walked back out into the hall. On his way to the garage, the only obstacle he ran into was Master Caius and that wasn't even a difficult one.

Caius was leaning on the wall by the doors that lead down to the parking deck, his arms crossed and one foot propped up on the wall, just waiting because after the call he received he knew it was only a matter of time before one or both trackers showed up.

Looking up the hall at the sounds of footfall, he smirked a little when he found he was right. "When should I tell my dear brother you shall be returning?"

Demetri shrugged a little, shaking his head. "I won't be until I have my mate."

"Our mates."

Both Demetri and Caius looked back down the hall and saw Alistair coming towards them.

Caius just chuckled a little. "Both of you, hmm? Aro is certain to be very cross at the loss of both of his trackers." Then he snorted, "Oh, I can't wait until he finds out you're gone." Looking up at the ceiling, "the fit he is going to throw will definitely be one for the books." Pushing himself off the wall and clasping his hands behind his back, he just walked away, calling back over his shoulder. "The jet is ready for departure. Do be sure to tell the twins I said hello, would you?"

Before he rounded the corner, Caius snapped his fingers and pivoted on his heel, calling out to the trackers before they closed the garage door, "a small piece of advice." When Demetri and Alistair turned back to him, "it is always easier to ask a lady for forgiveness than it will ever be to get her permission."

Demetri cocked a brow at him and Alistair blinked. "Did you just tell us to kidnap them?"

Snorting hard at that, Caius shook his head. "It is not kidnapping when your captive leaves with you willingly, Alistair and they would certainly not put up a fight." Then he hummed a little, "Destiny might do so just to spite you but that was not what I was talking about. It is a long flight so just think about what I said."

Nodding at him, the guards turned and went into the garage, over to their bikes and strapped their bags on. They dawned their riding gloves and helmets and, after a kick start, they shot out of the underground parking deck. Side by side, the two trackers flew through the streets and out of the gates of the city, opening the throttle and they were out of even vampire sights within moments.

*X*

Upon landing, two very depressed twins stood from their seats and grabbed their carry-ons, having nothing to gather since they hadn't done anything on the flight, not even Destiny when the little fucker behind her kept kicking her seat. Besides, not like she could cuss out a kid. Not even she was that mean.

While they were at the baggage claim, Destiny glanced off to the side and nearly jumped out of her skin. Jaw dropping a little, she blinked and gave her head a little shake. Reopening her eyes, she looked around and sighed. She was right, it was just a trick of her mind. Demetri wasn't really there, she just wanted him to be.

After collecting their bags, the girls headed to the long term parking deck as Destiny fished her keys out of her bottomless pit she called a purse. When she finally found them, she pulled them out and hit the trunk release when they were closer to her car. Looking at the gleaming black paint job, she couldn't find it in her to even be remotely happy to see it and this was her fucking baby.

It was her 18th birthday present and she had fallen in love at first sight. It was a midnight black, black softtop 2005 Ford Mustang Convertible with black leather interior with the dash decals and stitching in the seats done in red. It had a set of ground effects on it that lit the ground the color of blood when she turned them on. Normally when she was upset a drive in her car was all it took to cheer her up but this time the sight nearly made her cry.

Lifting the truck top, they loaded their bags in. After the tuck was closed, the twins just stood there in the parking deck, turning back to the airport, both thinking about just how easy it would be to just get on another plane and go back. Destiny crossed her arm and clicked the unlock button on the keychain as Arettia groaned a little.

"We didn't even get to say goodbye."

Destiny nodded, "I know."

Cocking her head to the side, Arietta glanced at her sister. "We could go back."

Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Destiny shook her head a little and went around to the driver's side door and looked back at her sister. "No, we can't." Opening the door, "come on, let's go home."

After one last longing look at the airport, Arietta sighed and went to her door as Destiny was lowering the top to air the car out. After getting and putting on her belt, Arietta once again looked at her sister. "It would be so easy."

Turning the engine and lighting a cigarette, Destiny looked over, "and that's what makes it so hard to do this."

Pushing in the clutch, Destiny shifted, pulled out of the parking spot and directed her car to the exit. Once they were out of the parking deck, Destiny turned up the music and headed for their apartment.

Stepping out of the shadows of the deck, Demetri crossed his arms, his head tilted a little to the side. "That is a nice car." Looking over at Alistair when he snorted, Demetri smirked, "told you we would land before them. Private jet versus a commercial flight, the jet will win every time."

Nodding a little, Alistair shrugged. "I will never doubt you again. The question now is, what are we going to do?"

Clasping his hands behind his back, Demetri started to make his way to the exit. "We are going to get our transportation then go get our girls." When they got outside, he looked to the cloud covered sky, "I don't know what Dez was talking about. I think the weather here is absolutely perfect." Looking back in front of him, "and look at that, our first stop is right up the street."

Alistair just snorted. "That's convenient."

"Small airport, I suppose. Or, cars in the long term parking were not properly tended to and wouldn't start. Either way, works well in our favor and chances are it only rents cars and the like."

Turned that as exactly what they did. Not like it mattered much, wasn't like they really wanted to deal with the hassle of having something they bought shipped home. No, that headache was going to be reserved for the twin's cars after any sort of locating devices were removed. After the paperwork was done and the bills were handled, Demetri mounted the bike he got and Alistair got in his Charger.

Demetri taking the lead, he focused on his mate and turned out of the parking lot and followed her as Alistair followed him. Weaving through the traffic, Demetri stayed in front of Alistair until he caught sight of the black convertible before he pulled back and pointed it out, dropping back behind the car since he wasn't wearing a helmet. When the girls pulled into a cluster of apartments and town homes, they parked on a side street, looked around for anyone that might see them before hopping the wall and onto the roofs, staying low and out of sight until their mates were back in theirs.

***X***

**Twins, always fucking with others. Poor Felix *grin***

**I love Caius in this story. I really like the character I created for him. Since he's the youngest, I feel he would be the less serious of the three and, as all little brothers would do, he would like to get under Aro's skin in just about anyway he can.**

**So, we're in the Twin's territory now and out of Italy. What could possible go wrong when they are finally in their own stomping grounds? Just wait... there is fuckery on the horizon. **

**Later,  
Speklez**


	11. Chapter 11

**I don't have a while lot to say at the moment. I am working on getting back into my stories after taking the last month to myself due to medical issues that were taking their toll on my muse. Currently, I am working on my last chapter to Can you handle so that one will be finished this weekend at the latest. I am also working out the next chapter to Time Heals and hope to have it updated in the next couple of days. The others... well... bow your heads and pray for those. I got nothing on them right now. **

**That's it from me. **

**On with it.**

***X***

Pulling into her parking spot next to her sister's car, Destiny cut the engine but didn't make a move to get out and neither did Arietta.

Propping her chin in her hand, Arietta looked at her car and sighed. "We have no food in the house."

"I'm aware."

"We need food in the house."

Dropping her head back on the headrest of her seat, Destiny rolled her head to look at her sister, "I know that too. I'm just really not in the mood to deal with people right now."

Looking over at Destiny, "I'll go after we get our stuff inside."

Hitting the trunk release, Destiny finally got out of the car. "I need something to do that doesn't involve others right now. You go ahead now and I'll get our shit inside. Don't worry about getting a lot, just some things for the day and we'll go real shopping tomorrow since we don't have anything else to do, like fly halfway across the globe."

Nodding and getting out of the car, Arietta walked backwards a few steps, "are you sure?"  
When Destiny nodded and lifted the trunk open, "alright, I'll get my keys and head out. Want anything in particular?"

Pausing in thought, Destiny looked over her shoulder and nodded. "Ice cream with all the fixin's and a bottle of whatever you want."

With a quick nod, Arietta turned and headed over to their neighbors to get her keys from Mr. Johnson. Knocking on the door, she gave Mrs. Johnson a smile when she opened the door.

Blinking at the sight of the twin, Mrs. Johnson grinned. "Arietta, I thought you weren't going to be home until tomorrow."

Smiling faltering a little, she just shrugged. "There was a problem with the number of passengers on tomorrow's flight so we were bumped up a day. Is Mr. Johnson here? I need my car keys."

Shaking her head a little, Mrs. Johnson grabbed the key off the hook by the door, "he isn't but your keys are. He started it up every two days and drove it around the block three times once a week just as you asked. He did add a quart of oil to it about a week ago and checked the other fluids as well. Your mail is on the kitchen counter and Justin tened to Destiny's snake to her precise directions." It was then she noticed Destiny pulling bag after bag out of the trunk of her car and sighed a little, "that girl. Let me get Justin and have him give her a hand."

Taking her keys from Mrs. Johnson, Arietta bit her lip as she looked over her shoulder at her sister, "that's alright Mrs. Johnson. I already asked if she wanted help and she said no." _And if she saw Justin right now, she just might kill him._ Turning back with a smile, "thanks for taking care of my car and our place while we were gone."

Shaking her head a little, she smiled at Arietta, "it was no problem, sweetie, we were happy to do it. If you girls need anything else, just come and ask." Before she shut the door, she remembered something and called out to both of the twins, "Oh, and happy belated birthday girls."

Destiny waved a thanks from their front door and Arietta smiled before heading over to her car to go to the store for a massive amount of junkie comfort food.

After grabbing her bag out of the front seat of her sister's car, she then turned to her own, trying to get that feeling of excitement she always did before opening the door of her 66 Shelby Mustang but couldn't find that spark. She got it on her 18th birthday when Destiny got hers. While Destiny liked the flashiness of the convertible, Arietta had a love of the classic muscle car. It was custom painted a dark, nearly black looking purple with the twin stripes in a paler purple. The interior of the car was all black leather and shiny chrome. For an older model car, she kept it in pristine condition, looking like it just rolled of the line the day it was made. It was her most prized possession but just like her sister, looking at her car right now meant it was back to real life and the dream she had been living was really over bringing a sad frown to her face as she opened the door and made ready to go to the store.

Backing out of her spot, Arietta waited when she saw her sister come back out for another load of bags. Once she was close enough to hear her, "anything other than ice cream and booze, Dez?"

A little glare on her face, Destiny leaned on the open window pain, "yeah, that little bastard Justin cleared us out of the reserve of pizza bites we left in the freezer so we had something to eat when we got home since it was going to be so late and left the damn dishes in the sink. Now, I know there was a reason you have been keeping me from manual castration on the fucker, but for the life of me, I cannot currently remember what that reason is."

Pressing her lips together to smother the giggle that was working its way up her throat, Arietta smiled, "he took care of Marcle while we gone."

Destiny's eyes narrowed a little as her face darkened, "he missed five feedings and didn't clean his cage. Seriously, how fucking hard is it to drop a mouse in a tank two times a week and change the shit he slithers over? Marcel shed his skin while we were gone and it's still there."

Shaking her head a little, Arietta pointed a finger at her twin, "be nice, Dez."

Standing up and taking a step back, she crossed her arms, "a perfect angel." As Arietta pulled away, Destiny glared hard over at their neighbor's house, "that lost her fucking wings."

Dropping her head back on her shoulder, Destiny sighed out hard before going back to her car, getting the last few things that were in the trunk before closing it and heading back inside. She decided that she was going to get a shower before she began to separate out what was hers from her sisters and start the laundry. She figured she had about an hour before Arietta got back so she was going to take advantage of it and take the longest shower known to man.

Closing and locking the front door, she just dropped the bags on the floor, draped their dresses over the back of the couch and on her way upstairs to her room to get some clothes, shot a text off to their parents to let them know they were home. Looking at her phone a moment, she debated with herself for a moment sending one to Demetri as well like she said she would, she ended up just tossing the phone on her bed.

Going over to the bay window, she flipped the lock and slid it open, grabbing her cigarettes out of her jacket and sitting on the ledge, legs dangling down the side of the building. After lighting a cigarette, she sighed a little and propped her chin in her palm, lifting the pendant around her neck into her line of sight, running her thumb over it. Biting on her pinky nail, she shook her head and huffed, "oh, what the fuck am I doing?" Dropping the necklace and crossing her arms, she growled a little, "it's a guy, a really hot guy, but just a fucking guy." Finished her cigarette, she pulled herself up to go back inside, still mumbling under her breath, "if he actually cared, he would have returned one of my calls."

Still crouched on her windowsill, her head snapped around when she heard a crash from downstairs. Grabbing the sides, she then leaned out to see if somehow Ari had made it back without her hearing her car, but didn't see the Shelby in its normal spot next to hers. Moving slowly so she was quiet, she hopped onto her floor and took off her boots before grabbing her phone off her bad and heading for her door. Before she grabbed the handle, she about jumped out of her skin when her phone vibrated in her hand. Shaking her head a little, she didn't look at the caller ID before flipping it open and bringing it to her ear figuring it was her sister, "hello?

_"Ciao, Tesoro."_

Her heart actually stopped beating for a moment at the sound of the voice in her ear. Pulling the phone from her, she blinked a few times before she believed her eyes and put the phone back, "hey, Demetri, what's up?" Before there was a response, there was another noise from the floor below reminding her that there was first an ass to kick before anything else. Cracking her door open and peeking out into the hall, she lowered her voice, "hey, um, can I call you right back?"

_"Is everything alright? You sound upset."_

Slipping out into the hall and moving along the wall, "oh, yeah. I'm good." Crouching down low as she took the steps slower than she ever had before, she peeked an eye out from the opening that lead to the living room, seeing one of the suitcases was now on its side and not upright like she left it. Eyes darting everywhere, she whispered into the mouthpiece, "someone's here that shouldn't be. If I'm not back in five minutes, hang up, call Ari and tell her to call the police."

Not waiting for a reply, she set her phone on the steps and moved quickly but silently the rest of the way down and through the living room, stopping to grab one of the little statues that were on the mantle. Heading for the kitchen where the noises were coming from, she looked around the door frame and saw the back of a head of dark blond hair that she would know just about anywhere. Setting the statue down, she stomped up behind him, grabbed him by the shoulder and forcefully turned him to face her before pulling her fist back and punching him square in the nose.

"God damnit Justin, you scared the shit out of me." Crossing her arms and glaring at the kid, she cocked a brow at him as he reached up and grabbed his now bleeding nose. "What in the fuck are you doing here?"

Talking into his palm, Justin whined, "I didn't know you were home yet. I stopped by to feed the snake."

The other brow rose to join the first at her hairline, "the suitcase you tripped over wasn't a fucking clue we were back?" Eyes lowering to the blood sliding down his forearm, Destiny pointed to the door, "get out before you bleed all over the damn place. Oh, and you own me fifteen bucks for the food you ate you little bastard."

When Justin didn't head to the front door and instead over to the counter for a paper towel, Destiny growled a little, grabbed him by the back of the shirt and drug him through the house, seeing the house key on the table by the door. Opening the door, she shoved him out into the parking lot and glared at him with one hand on the door, "so fucking HELP you if I find a single drop of blood on my carpet."

Looking at her with pure annoyance, "I think you broke my nose."

Smirking a little, "I will break more than that if I ever catch you in my house like that again. Arietta was at your house and talked to your mom not twenty minutes ago to get her keys so I KNOW you knew we were home." Turning to the side at the sound of lady's voice, Destiny smiled wide, "Hi, Mrs. Johnson."

Walking up the sidewalk, Mrs. Johnson looked at her bleeding son then back to the wild child of the complex, "everything alright?"

Smile still in place, Destiny nodded, "yeah, sorry. It was an accident. I was getting ready to get in the shower and heard a noise. Had I known Justin had our house key, I would have asked questions first."

At that, Mrs. Johnson blinked and turned to her son, "you went inside uninvited? I told you to knock and give the key back, not to go inside and scare the poor girl." Looking back at Destiny, "I apologize, Dez. I saw the key on the table after Arietta left and asked him to bring it over."

Lowering her head and clasping her hands behind her back, "No, I'm sorry. I was just a little freaked out when I heard the noise. I really should have looked before I swung."

Mrs. Johnson shook her head, "no, you shouldn't have. The moment it takes to check something like that is the difference between your safety and something horrific happening to you. You most certainly did the right thing Destiny, I'm proud of you." Looking back at her son, "you, on the other hand, have some explaining to do. Let's get you inside and cleaned up so I can figure out if I have to take you to the hospital or not while we have a little talk about entering a lady's house without her permission to do so." Shaking her head a little, she looked back at the twin for a moment, "you do have your sister's key back, right?"

Destiny leaned back into the house and grabbed the key off the table, and just to make sure it was the right one, slid it into the lock and turned it, glanced back at Mrs. Johnson and nodded, "yes Ma'am."

"Good." Scowling at her son, Mrs. Johnson pointed to their apartment, "inside, now. Just wait until I tell your father about this." With that, Mrs. Johnson turned and headed home.

Justin looked back at Destiny with a really pissed off look, to which she just winked at before giving him the finger, going inside and slamming the door, relocking the deadbolt. Peeking out through the curtains, she watched as Justin just stood there staring at the door for a moment longer before going home when even she heard his mother calling for him. "That's right you little fucktard. Go home to mommy before I bust up more of your face."

Shaking her head with a soft snort, she turned back to the steps when her phone rang. Eyes going wide, "oh, shit." Darting to the stairs, she dove for her phone, grabbing it and hitting send as she laid sprawled out on the steps, "Demetri?"

_"You had better tell me you're alright, Tesoro."_

Dropping her forehead on the step, she sighed a little as she pushed herself up and headed back to her room, "yeah, I'm alright. Sorry, it was my stupid little bastard of a neighbor. His mom sent him over with the house key since they were taking care of my snake and the plants and all that fun shit. Apparently, he decided he would rather just let himself in and scare the piss out of me over knocking on the door like a normal human being and giving it back that way."

There was a little hum on the other line. _"Seems to me that he needs to learn that it is not proper for a gentleman to enter a lady's home without her consent."_

At that Destiny snorted a little as she went into her closet for her clothes, "think a broken nose is a good enough teacher?"

_"You broke his nose?"_

Giggling slightly, Destiny nodded her head, "dude, I felt the bitch crumble. Right now he is probably getting read the riot act by his mom and his dad is going to be pissed right the fuck off when he finds out about it."

Demetri chuckled a little, replaying the scene in his mind that he saw from the stairs when she set her phone down._ "Nothing less than he would deserve for such a horrible crime. Since you are well, I will leave you to get settled in. I just wanted to make sure you arrived home safely."_

Pouting a little, Destiny sighed. "Alright. Yeah, we made it home about a half hour ago but there was the call to the parents, unloading the car and then Justin being a wannabe burglar. Um, can I call you when I get out of the shower or is it too late there?"

Demetri looked up at the cloud covered afternoon sky from his lounging position on the roof right above her head. _"No, never too late for me to hear your voice, Tesoro. I will talk to you soon."_

Grinning a little, "Okay. Later, Dem." After hearing his farewell, Destiny hung up the phone and tossed it on her bed before darting to her bathroom. Screw a long shower, she had a fuckhot Italian to call back, the words free international calls making her smile grow even more.

*X*

Pulling into the parking lot of the closest grocery store, Arietta cut the engine and got out of her car. When she turned back to lock it, she dropped her keys and took a half step back. Forcing herself not to blink, she stared across the parking lot, eyes locked on Alistair as he casually leaned on the trunk of a tree, arms and ankles cross as he just stared back at her.

Turning away for only a moment when she heard someone call her name, she looked back and nearly whimpered when she no longer saw him. Shaking her head with a little sigh, she picked her keys back up, locked the door to her car and headed to the entrance, turning only once to the spot she would have sworn on her life Alistair just stood before going inside.

Grabbing a cart, she turned with a half assed smile to the classmate that ran off the apparition she would have been perfectly happy to stare at for an hour or so. "Hey, Mark."

Grinning at the girl he has had his eye on since he started school a year ago, Mark fell into step next to her. "I thought you said you wouldn't be back until tomorrow."

Rolling her eyes a little as she headed for the junk food aisle, Arietta shooker head, "I have no idea where you heard that. I never told you when Dez and I were coming home." Looking up at him, "as a matter of fact, I never told you we were even going anywhere."

He just shrugged, "heard it at a party over the summer."

Giving him a flat look, "uh huh. Well, as you can plainly see, you heard wrong, as always." Reaching her destination, Arietta began to grab all matter of crap, tossing it in the cart without any real care. "Anyways, I'm busy, so, bye."

Following, even after the clear dismissal, Mark cocked his head to the side, "since your home, you should come to this party tonight with..."

Cutting him off, knowing what was coming, Arietta shook her head, "no."

"Well, just think..."

Turning to glare at the biggest jackoff in school, Arietta snapped, "I said no. Now, leave me alone."

Eyes sparking a little, Mark crossed his arms, "why?"

Giving him back the same attitude he was giving her, Arietta sneered at him, "you're little fuckwit, that's why. I don't like you. I'm cordial to you because I have to be, not because I want to be. Now, for the last damn time, leave me the hell alone."

Mark blinked a little before it dawned on him that he might have made a huge mistake. Clearing his throat a little, "sorry, Destiny. I thought you were your sister."

Scoffing a little, Arietta glared a little harder, "no, you got the right twin. If I was Destiny, I would have hit you by now. I'm just not in the mood to pretend that I actually like you at the moment. Now, for the last fucking time, leave me alone before you find out that I can hit just as hard as she can."

Whirling back around, Arietta walked away and headed for the dairy section to get the ice cream while making a mental note to go to the actual liquor store on her way home and not just settle on the low proof this store carried.

Hearing her phone ringing, she fished it out of her purse and flipped it open thinking it was Destiny calling to ask her to pick up something else, "Vincent's whorehouse, you got the cash, we got the ass. Arietta speaking, how may I assist you?"

There was a very manish chuckle on the other line making her jaw drop a bit, _"do you have any redheads?"_

Choking on her tongue, Arietta ripped the phone from her ear, whimpering a little when Alistair's name stood in bold letters that just seemed to mock her. Taking a deep breath and letting out slowly, she brought the phone back to her ear, "I'm sorry Sir, but we just let her go. The best I can do for you is have one of our girls dye her hair red."

There was another chuckle,_ "I would have no issues. If you are going to have her dye her hair, do you think it would be possible to add a little black as well, Chérie?"_

Groaning a little, Arietta snorted a bit, "if you have cash on hand, we'll do whatever you want." What the hell is wrong with me?

Laughing out right as he watched his human about to have a breakdown in front of the ice cream, Alistiar decided to drop it for now. _"How are you, Arietta? Did you make it home alright?"_

Nodding as she turned to grab the brownie batter ice cream, "yeah, we made it home about a half hour ago. I'm at the store right now getting something to eat since there was nothing at home."

Leaning around the side of aisle and seeing a cart full of junk, he snorted a little and shook his head, _"Then I won't keep you. I do apologize for missing your call before, but I was detained and then I wasn't sure when you were set to land with the time difference."_

"Oh, it's fine. I was going to text you when I got home from the store since I know it's late there and I didn't want to wake you."

Smiling slightly, "_it would have been worth it, Chérie. I will leave you to your shopping and will talk to you soon."_

Swooning slightly, Arietta giggled a little, "alright. Good night Alistair."

_"Good day, Arietta."_

Closing her phone, Arietta leaned back against the freezer and smiled, wrapping her hand around Alistair's guard pendant. After a moment, she sighed and, giving the cart a quick check to make sure she got everything she was after, she headed for the check out, a set of dark green eyes watching her and set of narrowed red ones watching Mark.

***X***

**Later,  
Speklez**


	12. Chapter 12

**Well, hello. Been a while, I know. I would say I'm sorry, but I'm not. I had a death in the family and took some time for myself. Paired with pregnancy issues, it's been a real shitty couple months. However, I am sorta back into the swing of things and am once again back to working on updates. **

**Now, to the story. Quick note, the center section that is from Alistair's voice was written by WhiteWolfLegend. The beginning and end, before and after the *X* are my words. **

**Other than that, On with it.**

***X***

Wednesday morning was a flurry of activity for the twins as they flew around their townhouse gathering everything for the first day of classes. With 'heys' and 'head's up's the girls tossed books, binders and packs of pens across the room to pack their messenger bags before running out the door, taking separate cars to campus since Arietta's class load was smaller this semester than Destiny's and she would be done almost three hours sooner.

Walking through the nulls, the twins nodded and waved to different students they knew from different classes. Spotting Justin across the lawn, Destiny snickered in remembrance of his two black eyes and swollen nose she saw the day before when she and her sister were unloading the car after they went grocery shopping. Having to walk past him, she slowed her stride a little when she overheard him telling some lie about what happened to his face.

Stopping completely when someone asked how big the guy at the bar was, She giggled as she clasped her hands on the book she was carrying in front of her thighs, "yeah, Justin, just how big was the bitch?" When he turned and glared at her, her jaw dropped in actual shock at how dark the bruises got but the concern was faker then the story he was making up to explain them. "Wow," tisking a little, "whoever it was looks to have a nasty left jab. If you look like that getting hit by the left hand," cocking her head to the side as she played with the ball of her tongue ring, "I wonder how much worse it look if you got the right hook instead."

One of the other students that was listening to the story looked over at Destiny for a second before turning back to Justin, "you said that you dodged the left and got hit with the right." Turning back to Destiny, "how do you know it was from the left hand?"

Gasping a little, Destiny's eyes went a little wide, "because," lifting her left hand and showing the bruising to her knuckles, "it was my left hand." Turning back to Justin with a 'fuck you' smile that was so wide it hurt her cheeks, "I really hope I didn't hurt you too bad. It was, after all, just an accident."

Glaring to the point of pain, Justin nodded a little, "yeah, an accident."

Smirking a little, Destiny looked back to the other students, "it wasn't in a bar. He didn't piss off some dude for macking on his girl. It was in my kitchen after he let himself into my house without my knowing about it." Looking Justin dead in the eyes, "to which he is extremely lucky I put the weapon down first."

Cocking a brow and grunting a little at the migrain the action gave him, "you knew it was me?"

Destiny snorted, "duh. If I didn't, I would have busted open your skull instead of shattering your nose." Leaning forward on her toes, she cocked a brow at him, "so, what did we learn? We learned that Destiny Vincent has a wicked left jab and will break bones when you come in her home uninvited. Something you might want to keep in mind, ya fucking pervert." Turning away from the now laughing students and pissed off Justin, Destiny then called over her shoulder, "by the way, you still owe me fifteen bucks for the pizza bites, Jackass."

Walking beside her sister, Arietta was trying so hard to keep a straight face, "you did that to him? You didn't tell me that."

Grinning wide at her twin, "and have to listen to you bitch about me needed to learn to control my temper? Not even. Besides, that time it was completely justified. He used your key to let himself in after knowing we were home. I was by myself when there was the crash from his dumbass tripping over a suitcase. Really, he's fucking lucky the only thing he got was a broken nose because I was about to whack him in the back of the head with one of the dragon statutes Grandma got us for our birthday last year."

Shuddering at the thought of getting hit with one of those, Arietta shook her head a little, "well, while slightly disappointed, at the same time, I am actually thankful for once that you decided to use your own fists. I really like those statues."

Giggling with an agreeable nod, Destiny looked at the building in front of her, "well, this is me." Looking at her sister, "lunch at the Student Union?"

Nodding as she was backing away, "see ya there."

Once Destiny got her to her chemistry lab, she snatched up the last window seat available and sat down. She learned her first year to ALWAYS have a window seat in a lab class or you were screwed. Looking out the window, she cocked her head to the side as she watched the other students walking the campus. Cupping her chin in her palm, she bit her pinky nail and took a moment to wonder what Demetri was doing when someone very rudely interrupted her daydream of what she actually WISHED he was doing, or who rather.

Looking straight into a pair of green eyes, she cocked a brow, not saying a word.

Mark smiled wide at the twin in front of him, hoping to be able to work her over and finally get a date out of her. "Hey, what's up? I didn't think you would be taking a lab."

Destiny's face stayed in a blank mask as she tilted her head a little, "why wouldn't I? It's required."

Mark blinked a little at who he thought was Arietta, "I didn't think it was for your major."

Head tilting a little more as she turned so he saw her profile, "are you an idiot or something? Why wouldn't it be?"

Mark shrugged, "I didn't think F&Ms had to take labs."

_Yeah, he's an idiot_. Smiling a little, showing a little teeth, she chuckled, "Ah ha," and flicked her hair over her shoulder.

Mark, thinking he was making progress, folded his arms over the back of his chair and smirked a little, "so, I was thinking I would take you out to dinner and movie this friday. What do you think about that?"

Still smiling that same little, unthreatening smile, Destiny chuckled a little, "you really want to know what I think about that?"

Thinking there was a chance, Mark nodded, "I wouldn't have asked if I didn't, sugar lips."

Tapping her finger to her lips a few times, Destiny squeezed her eyes shut and gave a closed mouthed smile, her voice high and playful," you really wanna know?" She opened her eyes and saw him nod so she folded her arms on her table, lifting a hand and crooking a finger at him, telling him to come closer. When he obeyed, Destiny's hand shot out and grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulling him nose to nose with her since the action seemed to have, for some reason, shocked the shit out of him. "I think if you ever call me sugar lips again, I'll rip your balls off and shove them up your ass. As far as the date, take a guess."

Gulping a little, Mark cleared his throat, "you're not Arietta."

Smirking at him, "bravo. You must be the smartest man alive. I will give you one warning before you get hurt. You leave my sister alone, you NEVER speak to me again and I won't take my pen and stab you in the eye. If you think I won't actually hurt you, take a look at what I did to Justin Johnson. Now, do you fucking understand the rules of engagement or do you need me to paint it for you?"

Pulling back when she let go, Mark cleared his throat a little, taking in the fact that the entire lab class was now staring at him. Looking back at Destiny and the challenge on her face and the uncapped pen in her hand, he sniffed at her, trying to maintain a little dignity and turned back around in his seat just as the professor came in.

Destiny snorted a little and leaned forward in her seat. Just because she liked to get a rise out of people, she whispered, "good doggy." Chuckling a little when Mark stiffened up, she leaned back in her seat, returning her attention to the world outside, listening with a half an ear as the professor went over the same shit they always do on the first day of classes.

About halfway through the overview/review of the basics of being in a lab class, Destiny turned and looked out her window again, jumping a little in her chair, not able to stop the started blink again. Only this time when her eyes opened, Demetri was still there, lounging on the roof across from her, one knee bent and foot on the roof while the other leg dangled down, gently twirling in a small circle.

Bringing her hand up, she took the guard's pendant in her hand, cocking her head to the side a little as she looked at Demetri.

Demetri just sat there for a moment, watching his girl watch him. He had seen her handling of the human in front of her getting quite the chuckle out of it. She was certainly a little spitfire, that was for sure. That, and extremely protective of her sister when it came to the male population, something he had only seen once back in Volterra. There was absolutely no doubt in his mind she really would have stabbed the boy in the eye after seeing the aftermath of when she decked the little fucker that went into the girl's house without her knowledge.

Alistair had thought he was joking when he told him about that, only to laugh his ass off when Destiny called the human on his lies in front of the boy's friends. While finding it as funny as Alistair did, the scent of anger and dedication to revenge that took over that Justin's scent had Demetri a little on edge and guard. He knew that something was going to occur and had zero remorse for the things that he would do the human should he actually be stupid enough to act on the asinine thoughts that ran through his head.

Turning his head to a different window when he heard someone bark at his mate, and her reaction to it, Demetri gave one more look to Destiny before dropping to the ground and walking away for the rest of her current class. He was feeling a bit peckish and decided to grab some fast food while she was otherwise occupied.

*X*

Arietta sat bored, her chin resting on her hands as she listened to her teacher drone on and on. She already knew this, what they were doing, what the protocol is if something were to happen, blah, blah, blah.

She didn't want to be here, to be in this class, this town or even the country. No she wanted to be back in Italy, to be back with Alistair. Her heart ached, she couldn't even say goodbye to him, to someone she has started to fall for.

With a sigh she turned her head towards the exit and almost jumped out of her seat in shock and surprise. There in the last seat of the row, the very row she sat in, was Alistair. She blinked once and then rubbed her eyes, hoping she wasn't dreaming or her imagination playing some sick trick on her.

"Alistair" she breathed out, a smile pulling at her lips.

Alistair simply sat watching his mate with a fond smile, laughing under his breath while she sighed or rolled her eyes at whatever the teacher said. He watched as her eyes turned towards him, widening as soon as she saw him, almost jumping out of her skin.

When he heard his name being breathed from her lips, he could have sworn that, just like every time, he could feel his heart beat once again.

They both sat there during the lesson just staring at one another, neither one wanting to break the intensity of the eye contact. He only did when he felt Demetri coming his way, knowing that he needed to speak to him about something. With one last smile towards his mate he leaves to meet Demetri, his departure looking like he simply vanished before Arietta's eyes.

Stepping outside with pure annoyance coloring his face, Alistair turned to who could only be called a pain in the ass for the interruption of his time with his mate, "so, did you see Dez?"

Demetri couldn't help but smirk as he pushed himself off the wall and followed Alistair with a chuckle, knowing full well he just pissed him off. "Yes, did you see Arietta?" Demetri chuckled deep, dodging the punch coming his way from the irritated vampire.

"Yes, now tell me what you need, or what is so important to allow me only 10 minutes with her." Alistair asked his partner with raised brows.

Clasping his hands behind his back, his voice matter of fact, "I am curious, did you happen to know that your little Cherie has a certain somebody who hastles her? He mistook Dez as Arietta and asked her on a date."

Alistair stopped dead in his tracks, a growl vibrating in his chest as he whipped around and stared into Demetri's overly amused eyes. When he spoke in response, there was a dark, burning intrigue in his voice, "he wouldn't happen to be, oh, about 6'3 with sandy hair and, hmm how would you put it... a Jock?"

This time it was Demetri's turn for his brows to shoot up in surprise. Well it seems this Mark has met Alistair before, or has at least been seen by him. Cocking his head a bit, "yeah, sounds about right. How'd you guess?"

Alistair chuckled darkly, "I saw him at the grocery store where he had also attempted to ask Arietta out. When she threatened him, he mistook her for Dez then as well." Shaking his head with a snort, "the stupid bastard was completely surprised when she informed him that she wasn't Dez." Pausing for a moment in thought, he hummed in his throat before turning in the direction that Demetri's scent trail led, "I believe I should pay him a little visit, maybe have a snack."

Demetri grunted a little as he followed after Alistair. In an attempt to lighten his friend's mood a little, he chuckled, "Dez threatened him too. She told him she would stab him in the eye with a pen if he didn't stay away from her sister."

Glancing at Demetri from the corner of his darkening eyes, Alistair shook his head a little, "it won't work. This Mark has seemed to have gotten it in his head to have my mate as his. I got the opinion last night that he does it frequently. He needs to be taught a lesson in..." Glaring a little, a growl ripped from his throat, "you know what, fuck teaching him a lesson. He needs to stay away from my mate or he will end up as my dinner. So, I will give him one warning and if he does it again, well, I'm pretty peckish."

Demetri, in all his years knowing Alistair, had never seen him like this. Sure he was ruthless to some degree, they all were, but this? This was completely different. In Alistairs mind, a male was trying to take his mate, something that no male vampire will simply sit back and allow. Sighing slightly, Demetri followed Alistair with a contemplative look. He knew with no doubt that his friend would in fact eat the human who dared tried to take Arietta from him but what he had to do was think of a way to keep that from happening, at least for a while.

They stood across from the building just biding their time and staying hidden from view. Both of them knew where he was, him being targeted by both of their gifts and all. They waited until all the humans were all out of the building, Demetri sighing softly when he saw his mate only to smirk a bit when he realized she was glaring daggers over her shoulder, grasping her things in her hand so tightly her knuckles were white. They both watched, absolutely and completely amused when Mark shuffled out ever so slowly, his group of friends chuckling at him as he shifts himself, wincing in pain.

Demetri elbowed Alistair, cringing a little when his mate stopped to smile vindictively at the human male. "Seems he pissed off Dez again. Do me a favor and remind me to never piss her off when she's changed,"

Alistair just nodded a little, grabbing and adjusting himself a little in remembrance of the pain of taking a nut shot.

Destiny watched with a smirk on her face as Mark scuttled away wincing as his friends laughed and pushed his shoulder. Served the fucker right. He was lucky she didn't plan on actually doing what she said she would. A pen to the eye, though much more amusing than a knee to the junk, had the added issue of assault and cops and a cell that you didn't get from taking away a man's ability to procreate.

She told him to stay away from her, told him to leave her sister alone. But obviously the fucker didn't want to listen to her, actually having the audacity to grab her arm as she walked away from him. It was his own fault, fucker should have saw it coming. She didn't like to be touched, so when he grabbed her, she promptly turned around and kneed him in the balls as hard as she could. She would have done it simply for touching her, but the fact he was still trying to get her to convince her sister to go out with him she thought he needed to learn a lesson. Yeah, as if she would ever try get her sister to see any man other than Alistair, especially not a creep like Mark.

With a disgusted grunt, Destiny shook her head and headed towards her next class, "fucking moron. I hope someone finally teaches you a lesson about boundaries and personal space." Pausing a little and looking over her shoulder at feeling like she was being watched, she sniffed and gave the asshole the finger when she saw Mark glaring at her before walking off to her class.

Greg, one of Mark's friends, laughed and clapped him on the back, "man, she got you good. I told you not to fuck with Destiny Vincent. Dude, didn't you see Justin this morning man?" Then Greg laughed even harder at the confused look on Mark's face. He knew better than to mess with Destiny having see her put more than one would be suitor in his place over the last few years.

"Shut up! Arietta is the one I want. I just wanted Destiny to convince her sister to go on a date with me," Mark gasped out, sitting down on a park bench with a wince, a grunt breaking free of his throat when his abused sack touched the bench.

Snorting hard, Greg shook his head at his friend, "You asked… Dude, you have got to be the absolute stupidest man I know. No one touches Destiny Vincent. Every guy knows that, hell, even the women know that shit. Fuck man, damn near the whole town knows not to fuck with her or her sister... because then you have to deal with her. I'm warning you man, stay away from the Vincent sisters because next time Dez won't be so nice." Greg sighed before walking away, shaking his head at the sheer level of stupidity of his old high school friend.

The rest of Mark's friends left laughing, leaving him there to sit off the pain. For a small chick, that little bitch had some serious force in her leg. Mark was pretty sure that if she hit him any harder, it would have been possible he would never be able to have kids again because she would have popped a nut. Sitting still for a little longer in silence, not even aware of the possible danger he was in, Mark closed his eyes and continued to rub himself to ease the pain that continued to linger.

Alistair waited until the last human in the area was away from the scene before stalking forward and shocking the shit out of the human.

About jumping out of his skin when he opened his eyes again, Mark snapped, "The fuck? You scared the hell out of me man." Wincing a little at the resounding pain that came from the action, he looked back up and froze slightly the sight of a pissed off Alistair.

Even knowing full well who he was, Alistair still asked, "you're Mark, yes?"

"Yes and now who the fuck are you?"

Leaning forward slightly causing Mark to wince back, Alistair's voice took on a dark undertone, "I hear you are bothering Arietta"

Mark, feeling brave, a stupid fucking thing to feel as he stared up at Alistair with a smirk on his face, "Yeah, she's my girlfriend."

Demetri inhales sharply at the stupidity of the human. His eyes darted to Alistair in slight panic, becoming fully concerned as the extremely angry vampire bursted out laughing.

Alistair looked relaxed as he laughed, a feeling of dread welling in the pit of his stomach. "Really," Alistair asked, his voice hitched ever so slightly. "She's quite the little gem."

"Yeah, a total babe. I can't wait to get in between those tight…" Mark didn't even get to finish as Alistair wrapped his hand around his neck and lifted him up off his seat.

Snarling slightly in his face, "Arietta is mine. I will give you one warning to stay the fuck away from her and if I see or so much as hear you have been near her, I will do things to you that will make…" stopping a moment, he cocked his head a little, "no, there is no words to describe the pain I will cause you should you not heed my words."

Mark winced, almost pissing himself in fear as the grip on his throat tightened to the point he couldn't breathe.

"Now do understand me Mark," Alistair asks calmly, deadly.

"Ye...Yes" Mark wheezed out, falling to the ground with a thump as Alistair drops him.

"Good. Stay away from my woman and you just might live to graduate, kay?" With a snap of his teeth and a dark smirk, Alistair turns and strides back grinning to where Demetri is waiting for him.

Demetri chuckled as Alistair gets close to him. "Honestly, did you really have to make the human piss himself?"

Alistair glanced over his shoulder at the now quivering human that, truly indeed pissed himself and smirked back at Demetri. "There's no fun in scaring a human if they don't... Am I correct?"

Demetri ponded that for a moment, looking at the human and then laughed a little, "so true."

*X*

Entering the lecture hall, Destiny made her way up to the high back rows, stopping about halfway up when she heard her name called. Looking up to the very last row, in the far back corner, a bright smile came to her face at the sight of her friends. Head dropping back on her shoulders, she huffed, "oh, thank GOD." Bounding up the steps and making her way over, she beamed at the four girls that were all smiles, "normal fucking people."

Tiffany, one of the first friends she made there grinned at her, "rough first class, Dezzy?"

Dropping into the center seat when the girls shifted around a little, Destiny slouched down and dropped her head back with a groan, "the class was fine. It was the people that made it suck." Rolling her head to look at Tiff, "you know that asshole that's, like, all up on my sister?"

Tiffany giggle, "Mark Baxter. Everyone knows he's a harmless idiot. I don't know why you let him piss you off so much."

A dark glare settled on Destiny's face, "he touched me." Shaking her head a little at the gaspes that caused, she sat up and began pulling out her computer and the book for the lecture class. "First, the waste of skin got me confused with Ari, trying to act like a smooth player and ask me to dinner and a movie on Friday. Then the fucker calls me 'sugar lips', all while thinking I'm not me."

Tiffany propped her chin in her hand, a wide smile on her face as she tittered, "oh, I can't wait to hear this. What did you do?"

Giving her friend a wicked grin, "I threatened to stab him in the eye with a pen if he so much as spoke to me again."

Throwing her head back, her tinkering laughter bouncing around the still half empty room, "fantastic. Oh, god, Dez. If you threatened that for just getting you mixed up with your sister, what did you do when touched you?"

At that, Destiny shrugged a little, snickering a little at the memory of the penguin walk Mark is going to be sporting for a while, "I drove his balls up into his throat."

Marcy, who was sitting on Destiny's other side giggled a little, "Jesus Dez. That's two guys you maimed in two days. Aren't you supposed to come home from vacation rested and relaxed?"

Turning to look at Marcy, Destiny held up a finger and cocked a brow, "first of all, Justin did that shit himself when he let himself into my house thinking he had some God given right to be there. Second, Mark is a little pussy ass bastard and Ari is far too nice to put an end to the fucked up little puppy crush the fucker has on her so someone else has too. Third, I was rested and relaxed until I had to be around these fucking people again. I swear to God if it was not for the fact that I have to take labs for my degree, I would just go to school online."

Ellie chuckled a little as she looked around Tiffany, "it would be safer for the public, Dez."

Destiny gave her the finger, "fuck you, Els."

Ellie snorted a little, "what? I only speak the truth." Then she smiled wide, "anyways, screw the bastard. He's nothing but a dumb jock anyways. What I want to know is how was your trip and are the Italians as hot as they are on TV."

Dropping back against her seat again and wrapping her fingers around Demetri's pendant, she sighed out a swoon worthy noise, "you have no idea. Truthfully, they are so much hotter than the ones you see on TV. I don't know what they put in the water in Volterra, but Jesus fuck, there are truly no words to describe them. They don't follow the ten scale, they blow it the fuck up."

Tiffany smirked a little, "what's his name?"

A small smile pulled at Destiny's lips as she twirled a piece of hair around her finger, "Demetri." Looking over at her best friend that she wasn't related to, "he's one of the head Royal Guards and perfect." Then she thought about that for a second before giggling a little, "well, my definition of perfect anyways. I really don't think anyone else would agree." Pulling her phone out of her bag, she brought up the camera and showed the only pic of him she was able to get.

Tiffany took the phone and stared at the screen with wide eyes, "oh dear God, you lucky little bitch." Looking over at her, what she was going to say died on her tongue when she saw the same necklace from the picture hanging around her best friend's neck. Dez didn't do souvenirs so if she was actually wearing something that was given to her, this guy actually meant something to her and she refused to be the one to bring up the twins coming home.

Watching Destiny look at the picture on her phone and seeing the sad, distant look in her eyes, she leaned forward and glared at Rachel knowing full well that she would be the one that asked why she would leave something like that to come home. Glare still in place, Tiffany mouthed, "I will _hurt_ you."

Rachel snapped her mouth shut with a click, nodding a little when she saw the look on Destiny's face.

It was then that the professor came in, calling the class to attention and launching straight into the lecture not caring to go over the syllabus for the semester since the students were certainly old enough to read it themselves.

After two borning hours and a shit ton of notes and homework, Destiny walked out with her friends, laughing as she ducked and twirled away from the hand that was aimed for her shoulder, "oh, come on. Don't be all pissy. We all saw the way you were looking at the professor, Rach."

Rachel huffed a little and crossed her arms, "so he has a nice ass, whatever."

Still snickering a little, Destiny looked at her watch, "hey, I gotta meet Ari for lunch." Looking back up, "I'll see you guys later." After waving to her friends, Destiny turned towards the student center and went to meet up with her sister.


	13. Chapter 13

**Okay... so, your second update. There is a time jump and this is where the story starts to pick up a bit. I don't have anything to say in this one that wasn't said in the last one other than this was all me. **

**On with it.**

***X* **

It was midterms and Destiny was just about completely burnt out. She spent more time on the fucking campus then she did anywhere else and it was starting to wear her down. She was seriously considering dropping one or two classed and picking them up again later. It was currently the middle of the night and she was sitting at the kitchen table on the verge of passing out as she studied for her first test in the morning. Rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands, she got up and began to make herself another pot of coffee since she still had at least three hours worth of notes left to review.

She had just sat back down at the table when she heard her sister come into the room. Looking up at her, "I didn't wake you up, did I?"

Arietta shook her head a little, grunting a bit as she glanced over her twin's shoulder at the math equations and shit that not even NASA could decipher that was going to be on Destiny's midterm. "No, don't worry about it. I smelled coffee and figured I was going to once again have to force you to go to bed."

Running her fingers through her hair, Destiny sighed a little as she picked up her pencil and leaned heavily on her elbow, propping her temple against her fist, "I can't. This class has been kicking my ass all semester and if I bomb the midterm I will royally fuck myself for the rest of it. My professor already thinks I'm an idiot and I would love to prove he is an asshole."

Leaning on the counter and crossing her arms, Arietta sighed, "Dez, you can't keep going the way you are. You're going to hurt yourself. Tell me the truth, when was the last time you got more than two hours of sleep in a night?"

Destiny said nothing, just shrugged a little as she began to work through the next problem on the practice test that was handed out.

Dropping her arms with a little growl, Arietta pushed herself off the counter and walked over the table and pulled the pencil out of her sister's hand, "go to bed."

Giving her sister a flat look, Destiny reached for her writing utensil with a sigh, "Ari..."

Pulling her arm back and out of reach, Arietta glared, "Don't you Ari me, Destiny Elizabeth. You have been killing yourself for two months and it's time for you to stop. Go... to... bed."

Blinking at the use of her middle name being thrown into the mix, Destiny huffed a little, "seriously Ari..."

Growling again at the sheer stubbornness of her twin, Arietta put both hands on the table and bent at the waist, looking her sister in the eye. "What the hell is the point of trying to get a degree if you die before you succeed? You hardly eat, you don't sleep. You start classes at seven in the morning are not done until after ten at night and are up until God knows when doing a pile of homework that would choke an elephant. You are running yourself into the ground, Dez, and sooner or later, you are going to hurt yourself.

"I know you're trying to do the impossible and get your degree early, and I am seriously proud of you for getting as far as you have in as little time as you did. You already knocked a full year off the program. Be proud of that and stop trying to take off more. So it takes you five years instead of four to get your six, so what. Who fucking cares? So one stupid professor is an asshole. That is not a reason to kill yourself trying to prove him wrong. So here's the deal, you either slow down on your own, or I go to admin and do it for you. No one will question which twin I am and you know it."

Cocking a little brow, Arietta grabbed the notebook out from in front of Destiny, went over to the counter and dumped the freshly made coffee and turned off the coffee pot before heading to her room. At the door, she turned back, "had you gotten more than five hours of sleep this week, you could have just stopped me, thus proving my point. Go to bed, Dez."

Destiny just sat in her chair, wide eyed and slacked jawed at her sister's now closed door for a moment before turning to the sink where her coffee was just wasted, whimpering a little. Arietta might have taken her math work, but there was still chemistry to be done and that was the last of the coffee.

Once Arietta was in her room with the ridiculous sized pile of notes, practice problems and various other bullshit, she put it all on her desk and picked up her phone. After a glance at the clock, she opened her phone and held the three button down. Putting the phone to her ear, she crossed on arm over her chest and and waited for the other line to pick up. Three rings later there was a voice on the other side that brought a smile to her lips.

"Hi Daddy." Smiling wider at the chuckle, she looked at her door when he asked her why she wasn't in bed. Biting her lip, knowing her sister was going to murder her for this, she sighed, "that's kinda why I'm calling. I'm worried about Dez."

_"Is she alright?"_

Sighing again, Arietta shrugged, "I don't think so. I just dumped the last of the coffee in the house and she didn't even try and stop me from doing it. She's been killing herself trying to keep up with her class load this semester. I mean, she couldn't even tell me the last time she got more than two hours of sleep. Hell Daddy, I don't think she's even getting that. Her first class starts in two hours and she's at the table in the kitchen doing homework. I don't know what to do but I know this isn't healthy."

Mr. Vincent was silent for a few minutes, trying to come up with a solution that wouldn't land one or both of his daughters in the ER. Destiny, from the sounds of it, was well on her way to putting herself there and once she found out Arietta ratted her out, Destiny was gonna be pissed and they would end up sharing a room at the local hospital by the time Destiny was done.

When he had his plan worked out in his head, _"alright, this is what I want you to do. Once she goes to sleep, turn off her alarm. I'll take care of the rest."_

Puckering her lips a little and cocking her head to the side, "what are you going to do?"

_"I have a friend at the hospital by you two. I am going to give him a call and have him fax the school an excuse for the next couple of days so she can still take her midterms for the classes that she isn't about to drop. When the administration office opens in an hour, I am going to call them and have them drop her from her first class of the day and her last class of the day._"

At that, Arietta groaned a little, "Dez is going to kill me for this."

_"Oh, I have no doubt she is going to pissed off over this and I don't care. Once she wakes up, I want you to have her call me and I will deal with her temper while you run for the hills and return her books for the chosen classes."_

Rubbing her eyes a little and glancing back at the door, her brow creased, "well, good thing I don't have any classes tomorrow. After not sleeping for however long, she's probably going to be out for awhile."

She was too.

It was well into the afternoon when there was a scream from above Arietta's head before her sister came thundering down the stairs and into the kitchen, sliding across the floor in her rush to grabbed her shit before finding her traction and turning to run out the door for class.

With a choked noise as she swallowed the mouthful of milk, Arietta slammed her glass down and tore ass after Dez, taking the shortcut over the furniture instead of the long way around it, getting in front of her frantic sister and blocking the front door, holding her hands out to the side and shaking her head.

Skidding to a stop so she didn't slam into her sister, Destiny stared at her twin, panting before shouting, "move. I overslept and am, like, WAY late."

Arietta leaned back against the door and prepared herself for a tantum to make a toddler proud, "no. You have been taken out of class until Monday."

Freezing in place, Destiny blinked at her sister a few times before her face began to darken, and her voice going along for the ride, "what did you do?"

Straightening her spine and squaring her shoulders, Arietta stayed as calm as she could, "I didn't do anything." Looking her pissed off twin in the eyes, "dad did."

Rearing back at those last two words, Destiny's jaw dropped a little, "you called... Arietta!"

Not looked even slightly remorseful over her actions from the night before, Arietta nodded, "I knew you weren't going to listen to me, so yes, I called dad."

Shock giving way to rage, Destiny exploded. "What the fuck did you do that shit for? Do you have any idea what the fuck you just did?"

Arietta's eyes narrowed a little, "Damnit Dez, I was worried about you. Do you have any idea what the fuck you even look like right now? You look like an emaciated vampire with the coordination of fucking zombie."

Dropping her bag to the ground, Destiny slid her fingers into her hair and took a deep breath, repeating 'can't kill, can't kill, can't kill' over and over in her head as she glared at her sister through her lashes. Once she was a little more in control of her temper, she spoke in a deadly calm voice that put Arietta a little on edge, "You just ruined everything and made everything I have been putting myself through pointless. Yeah, this semester sucks but the next one was a fucking breeze and now, because you called dad, and I'm sure he did SOMEthing to my schedule, next semester is going to kick my ass too. So, thanks ever fucking so."

Arietta blinked a little as Destiny simply pivoted on her toe and headed for the steps. Before she got too far, "where are you going?"

Looking over her shoulder, glare still in place, "to call dad and find out just how bad the two of you just fucked me over."

Ignoring her sister, Destiny ran back up the steps and slammed her door shut, grabbed her phone out of her jacket pocket, along with her cigarettes, and called her dad. Lighting one as she waited for him to pick up, she went over to her window and slid it open, leaning against the sill.

It took him four rings, but eventually, her father's voice came through the line,_ "hello, Destiny._"

Blowing out a lungful of smoke through her nose, "non-female parental unit."

Mr. Vincent sighed a little, "_I know you're upset Dez, but..._"

Cutting him off with a snort, Destiny interrupted, "no, upset was about ten minutes ago. My current mood, Satan himself wouldn't want to fuck with me. So, let's skip the bull and get to the point of my call. What did you do?" Eyes closing and chin dropping to her chest, a little whine came out when she found out that her father had her pulled from two classes and a lab on top of making her have to take all of her midterms on one day.

Taking a long hit from her cigarette, she played with the ball on her tongue ring for a minute so she didn't actually blow up on her dad before sighing a little, "Seriously Daddy, how could you do this without talking to the actual twin the class load affected? Do you even know what next semester is going to be like now? Every single one of those were a requirement for my year. Without completing them, I can't move up. You could have taken me out of the electives if you were going to pull me from classes."

Mr. Vincent looked up at his wife, who was sitting across the table from him, her arms crossed and a little smirk on her face. She told him to talk to Destiny before he did anything and he didn't listen, like always. Folding his arms on the table, he returned his focus to the call.

_"I'm sorry, Dez. The woman I spoke to didn't tell me what the classes were or that they were required for you to take for your major. I had only asked for you to be pulled from classes before ten and after eight."_

Pressing her lips together and looking up with a shake of her head, "well, wonderful. Because of this, next semester is going to be far worse than this one and every class I have is required so, like I told Arietta, thanks ever so, Daddy. Really, thank you for lightening the load."

_"Destiny..."_

Deciding she had had enough for the moment, she cut in again, "look, I gotta go. Since I have been informed that I have no classes until Monday and that I apparently look like a starving vampire, I'm gonna to feast on some blood. I'll talk to later."

Closing her phone before she could get yelled at for the massive disrespect to her parent, Destiny finished her cigarette, tossed the butt out the window and grabbed her keys. She vaguely remembered being told one should never drink pissed off, but at this point, it was probably going to be the only thing that saved her sister's life.

On top of the apartment, Demetri and Alistair stayed crouched down as Destiny left the parking lot fifteen minutes after her sister. Cocking his head to the side, Demetri looked over at his partner, a small smirk on his lips, "well now. That was informative."

Alistair snorted a little as he shifted his position a little, "I bet. For the last few days, I thought you were going to lose your fucking mind over the state she was in." Humming a little, "so, how much longer until we get to go home?"

Looking after the fading Mustang, Demetri shrugged, "let's let them finished the semester out. After all, they have been busting their asses and I really don't want to take that away from them."

Grinning a little and shoving Demetri's shoulder, "you don't want to face her wrath, be honest."

The challenge on Demetri's face could be seen by a blind man. "Do you?"

*X*

It took until Saturday for Destiny to completely calm down after the backstabbing of her twin and actually consent to going out with her that night. There was a midterm party on Frat Row and it was a 'come one, come all' fiesta. Since the twins had gone after every set of midterms and finals, Destiny felt it had become tradition and nodded when Arietta asked her if she wanted to go earlier in the day.

Getting out of the cab at the end of the street, Destiny and Arietta linked arms and walked down the row of houses until they got to their favorite Frat, Alpha Lambda Phi. It was the only one that wasn't overrun with jocks and one that Mark and Justin avoid like the fucking plague. Over the last few weeks, Destiny had seen Justin more and more around where she never had and Arietta could say the same about Mark. Neither one ever said a word to them, but that did nothing to put either twin at ease.

Walking into the house, The twins smiled and did a little curtsy at the welcome they got from the group inside. Going to the bar that was set up in the living room, Destiny smiled at Kevin, the resident bartender at every party hosted at the house, "Hey stranger."

Grinning back as he shook the drink in his hands, "well, look at that, she lives. Where have you been all week?"

Destiny grunted a little waved her hand, "over protective Daddy vs. asskicking schedule. Daddy won. He had one of his friends send an excuse to admin to excuse me from class so I could get the sleep that I wasn't getting and then called admin himself and pulled me from two classes and a fucking lab so I didn't kill myself or some shit. I'll be back in class on Monday." Leaning over the bar to get a look at the selection for the night, "whatcha got goin' on there?"

Grabbing a couple of bottles and twirling them in his hands, he smirked, "Your favorite, of course."

Smiling wide with a little squeal, Destiny watched as he poured a heavy handed vodka cranberry for her, taking it with a thanks as Kevin then poured Arietta a straight whisky on the rocks.

After he served them, Kevin leaned across the bar and looked at them both in turn, "you two be careful tonight. Anyone gives you problems, Brad and Rob are playing bouncer. Find them and they'll kick whoever it is to the curb or come to me and I'll just kick their asses."

Both twins nodded with little giggles before they each pecked a kiss to his cheeks and leaving the bar. Kevin was like a big brother to the girls and had been since their first party at the frat house. Tiffany had been seeing one of the brothers their first year and invited them to the first midterm party of the year where they met him. Sadly though, this was his last year so they wouldn't see him much longer.

A few hours later, two well and truly drunk twins stumbled down the steps of the frat house to go to the cab they called to take them home. Since the street was full of drunken college kids, Destiny and Arietta had to walk over to the next block since the cab company knew this weekend all to well and wanted to avoid any accidents.

Cutting down the alley to avoid Pi Lambda Phi and a couple of jackasses, the girls were laughing as they walked with their arms linked, both of them trying to keep the other on their feet. They were about halfway when they paused at their names, looking back and both groaning when they saw who it was. Looking at each other, Destiny flicked the ball of her tongue ring a few times before she grinned a little, "wanna have a little fun?"

Smirking at the look in her sister's eyes, Arietta shrugged a little, "what do you have in mind, my dear sister?"

A matching smirk came to Destiny's lips, "well, my dear twin, they can't tell us apart sober. The ol' switcharoo on the morons?"

Giggling a little, Arietta turned and crossed her arms, "well, gotta say gentlemen, took ya fucking long enough to heal. You can hardly see the break or the limp anymore."

Both bristling at the remark, Mark and Justin glared at 'Dez'. Justin, however, let his drop first as he got close enough for his expression to be seen, "well, ya know, accidents happen. I'm not angry anymore."

Arietta giggled, "not like you had a lot to be mad about in the first place." Leaning forward a little, "but at least you're alright now. You looked down right horrible there for a while."

Destiny tapped Arietta lightly on the forearm, "be nice, Dez. He was only trying to bring my key back." There was no keeping a straight face for the next thing she said. "You overreacted."

Arietta shrugged a little, "or not. I still think it was very nice of me not to crack open his skull."

Pride filled Destiny to the brim at Arietta's portrayal of her. It was seriously almost perfect. A few more F-bombs and that shit would be spot on.

Mark decided that he wanted to test Destiny's threat should he make a pass at Arietta, the very dangerous encounter with that guy from campus lost to his drunken state. Moving over to Destiny, Mark gave her what would be a charming smile if Destiny wasn't on the verge of throwing up at the sight. He set his hand on her hips and began to push her back up against the wall, pressing her back against it and leaning on his forearm above her head, picking up a lock of her hair and playing with it a little.

Destiny gagged a little and she was pretty sure there was bile rising up her throat. She flicked her eyes quickly over to her sister and saw her in much the position as she was in. _Huh, so that fucker has puppy crush too, eh? Whoda thunk it?_ She returned her eyes to Mark when he started speaking, confirming the presence of bile at the ready.

"You know, your sister told me to stay away from you. There was even a threat of a pen to the eye if I didn't. What do you think of that? You don't want me to stay away, do you, Ari?"

Destiny gagged again. Covering it fast enough for his drunk ass not to notice it, Destiny gave him a coy smile, "you know, only Dez calls me that. As for the rest of that, can I ask you something first?" When Mark nodded, Destiny smirked, "how the fuck are you this stupid? You claim to be in love with Arietta and you don't know which one that is." Smirk turning to wicked little grin at the horror that overtook Mark's face, Destiny reached down and pulled her switchblade from her boot and flipped the blade out, "and that wasn't a threat, it was a fucking promise. Get off me."

When Mark didn't move back but instead grabbed her wrist of the hand that held the knife, Destiny's eyes sparked a little before she gave him a reminder of how bad of an idea it was to grab her. Driving her knee up into his junk, again, she shoved him back onto his ass, dropping the blade in the process, and darting over to her sister that was having a little trouble with Justin. Seriously, who knew the fucker was that strong for as scrawny as he was?

Grabbing a handful of hair, she pulled as hard as she could, pulling him back far enough to get a grazing hit with a fist, stunning him enough to push him away. Grabbing her sister's wrist, she pulled her along behind her, only to jerk to a stop when their exit was blocked by Mark, who was back up, with her knife in his hand.

Arietta looked back and saw Justin getting to his feet. Turning around so she was back to back with Destiny, Arietta whispered, "this is really bad Dez."

Destiny snorted a little, "no shit. That fucker has my knife."

Looking at Mark as Destiny looked back at Justin, Arietta asked a question this time, "should we scream?"

Destiny shook her head, "go ahead but I doubt anyone is gonna hear you. And even if they do, they won't know it's a call for help, not with all the crazy drunken assholes screaming for the fuck of it."

Biting her lip and turning back to face forward when Dez did, "then what the fuck do you suggest?"

Pressing her lips together, Destiny glared at Mark but shook her head a little, "I have no idea. Just... don't give up."

Whipping around to look at her sister's profile, "the fuck does that mean?"

Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, "just that. Don't give up. We're the fucking Vincents. We're gonna kick the shit out of them."

"He has your knife."

_Well, at least I keep that bitch sharp_. Squeezing her sister's wrist that she was still holding, "I got Mark, you take Justin. Get him down, however you can and then do whatever you have to, to keep him there. Once you do that, run like you have never ran before." Rolling her head on her shoulders and giving her sister's wrist another squeeze, "ready?"

Arietta grunted a little, "no, but let's do it anyway."

Locking eyes on Mark, Destiny let go of Arietta, whispered good luck, to which she got one in response, and decided to add a little fuel to the fire since really, the situation couldn't get any worse as she calmly walked towards the big moron. Smirking a little, "big bad asshole you are. Put the knife down."

Mark twirled the blade in his hand and smirked at the only person on the planet he could say he hated, "you pulled it on me."

Destiny shrugged a little, "I'm a chick that is half your size, no fucking shit I pulled a weapon on you. I want my knife back then we can walk away from this and no one ever has to know about it."

Gripping the handle a little harder, "I'll know and that's more than enough."

"What are you gonna do, seriously?"

There was a very high pitched, yet still very manly, yelp of pain that took Mark's attention to the other side of the alley where Arietta had figured out how to get Justin off his feet.

_Good girl, Ari. Run and don't look back._ Using his distraction against him, Destiny dove at Mark when he went to move around her, grabbing his thick, meaty wrist that had her knife in it and twisted, trying to get him to drop the blade that he had apparently taken a liking to since he refused to let go. Since she was still pretty well lit and half the guy's size, she knew this was going to be a losing battle. All she really had to do was get past him and that would be that, but even that was proving a little difficult.

Losing her grip on his wrist and bobbing when she should have weaved, she saw a glitter before she saw black.

*X*

Arietta, breathing hard and fast, stopped at the mouth of the alley, looking both up and down the street for someone, anyone but she was on the next block over from the party where her and Destiny were supposed to catch that cab... and didn't even see it. Looking over her shoulder and seeing Destiny still on her feet, she just picked a direction and started running, "hold on Dezzy. Just, hold on." She was going to just go around the corners and back to Frat Row but saw two people walked down the street in the same direction she was running. Currently not giving a flying fuck as to who they were, she took a deep breath and shouted, "HELP!"

She nearly fell flat on her face when she saw who turned to look at her.

Demetri and Alistair turned sideways at the call, blinking a little, not able to get their brains to believe that one of their twins would in any way need help.

Running faster, Arietta called out again, "Alistair, Demetri." Stopped just shy of running into them, "I don't know what the fuck you're doing here and I don't care. Destiny, please, she need help." Grabbing them both by the wrists and pulling as hard as she could, she gave them a heartbreaking look of desperation as her eyes filled with tears, "come on."

She let go and turned back the way she came, the following sounds of footfalls literally music to her ears. They got to the alley just in time to see Mark embed Destiny's switchblade into her stomach. Alistair caught her as Arietta's knees gave out from under her, holding her off the ground as she screamed the scream that was caught in Destiny's throat.

Demetri's eyes went flat black as he shot from his spot, ghosting behind the human and grabbed him by the shirt, throwing him with only enough force to break his spine when he hit the wall, catching Destiny as she fell. Cradling his mate in his arms, he turned with the darkest look on his face Alistair had ever seen as he stared at the human that was moaning and groaning on the ground where he bounced to. His voice was nothing but a dark growl, "you have just made the biggest fucking mistake of your life." Looking over his shoulder to the absolutely distraught and unconsolable Arietta, Demetri looked at Alistair, who was trying his damnedest to get his mate to stop screaming.

Arietta looked back and forth between her sister and Demetri, tears pouring down her face, before locking devastated eyes on Demetri, "you have to do something. You have to help her. Please, Demetri, save her."

Demetri looked from Arietta to Alistair, who shook his head, "she won't make it to Volterra, Dem."

Looking at Alistair a moment longer before looking at Arietta, Demetri then turned back to his mate, "the fuck she won't. Get the car. We got a few stops to make on the way to the airport." Changing how he was holding Destiny, he pulled his phone out and called Felix, growling when he took too long to answer. Once he did, Demetri jumped right in, "Have a changing room prepared for use in fifteen hours and inform the masters of an imminent newborn."

_"Gonna tell me what's going on?"_

Growling a little when the human that tried to kill his mate twitched a little, "I just did." Clicking the phone closed and putting it back in his pocket, he gently lifted his mate into his arms, dipping his head and butting his nose to hers, "just hang in there a little longer, Agapi Mou, and you'll be alright. Just a little longer."

Turning to face the way he came when he heard Alistair pull up to the mouth of the alley, Demetri carried Destiny to the car, Alistair opening the back door for them before going over and picking up both human males that were in the alley and throwing them into the trunk, slamming the lid shut before getting back into the driver's seat next to Arietta who was turned around looking at her sister.

Sniffling a little and wiping her cheeks off, Arietta looked at Demetri, "she's gonna be okay, right?"

Demetri locked eyes with Alistair in the rearview mirror for a second before looking back at Arietta and nodded. "In a matter of speaking." Lifting Destiny's shirt and licking his hand, he pressed it against the open wound and rubbed his venom on it so it would slow the bleeding.

Arietta watched, confused at both the statement and action before speaking, "what does that mean, a matter of speaking?" When Demetri nodded to Alistair, she turned to him, "Alistair?"

Alistair ran a hand through his hair and scratched the back of his head a little, "what he means is, she's not really going to die."

Blinking at him, "the fuck?"

Demetri rolled his eyes at the issues Alistair was having just spitting it out, so, he did it for him, "we're not human."

Starting at that, Arietta looked back and forth between them a few times before looking at Demetri, "then what are you?"

Cocking a brow at Alistair in the rearview again, Demetri locked his eyes on Arietta's, "vampires, and the only way your sister is not going to die is if she becomes one too."

***X***

**So... there you have it. Secret is out and back to Italy the twins go. Bout time, right? What do you think is going to happen now? Let me know your thoughts and I will get back to updates to my other stories. **

**Later, My Darlings. **

**Speklez**


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